DivisioQ 

Section  .R6H- 


ONE  OF   THE  ALIENS 


IMMIGRANT  RACES 
IN  NORTH  AMERICA 


Peter  Roberts,  Ph.  D. 

Immigration  Secretary  of  the  International  Committee  of 
Young  Men's  Christian  Associations 


New  York  :  The  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  Press  :  Nineteen  Hundred  Ten 


Copyright,  1910,  by 
The  International  Committee  of  Young  Men's 
Christian  Associations 


CONTENTS 


Introduction  7 

An  Immigrant  Nation. 

I.    The  Teutonic  Group  13 

Germans^  English,  Scandinavians. 

II.    The  Keltic  Group  19 

Scotch,  Irish,  Welsh. 
III.    The  Slavic  Group  27 


Russians,  Poles,  Bohemians,  Moravians, 
Slovaks,  Servians,  Croatians,  Bosnians, 
Montenegrins,  Slavonians,  Dalmatians, 


Slovenes,  Bulgarians. 

IV.    The  Italic  Group  41 

French,   Spanish,   Portuguese,  Rouma- 
nian, Italian. 

V.    Helleno-Illyric  Group  51 

Greeks,  Albanians. 

VI.    The  Lettic  Group  57 

Letts,  Lithuanians. 

VII.    The  Iranic  Group  6l 

Armenians,  Persians,  Gypsies. 

VIII.    The  Chaldean  Group  69 

Jews,  Syrians. 

IX.    The  Tataric  Group  77 

The  Turk. 

X.    The  Finnic  Group  85 

Finns,  Magyars. 

XL    The  Chinese  Group  93 

Chinese. 

XII.    The  Japanese  Group  101 

Japanese,  Koreans. 


AN  IMMIGRANT  NATION 


In  the  report  of  the  Immigration  Bureau  of  the 
Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor,  Washington, 
D.  C,  forty  different  classifications  of  the  immigrants 
are  made.  Thirty-nine  of  these  refer  to  distinct 
peoples,  the  fortieth  is  "other  peoples"  into  which 
everything  not  included  in  the  previous  groups  is  put. 

In  the  classified  list,  forty-five  peoples  are  men- 
tioned. Of  these  the  African  (black),  the  Cuban, 
the  East  Indian,  the  Mexican,  the  Pacific  Islander, 
the  Spanish- American,  and  the  West  Indian  (except 
Cuban),  are  not  treated  in  the  present  work.  The 
Cuban,  the  Mexican,  the  Spanish- American,  and 
West  Indian,  are  the  product  of  intermingling  of  the 
Spaniards  with  Indians  or  Negroes,  and  cannot  be 
said  to  be  a  distinct  people.  The  African  immi- 
grants are  lost  in  the  Negro  population  and  are 
seldom  thought  of  as  forming  a  part  of  the  great 
immigration  tide.  The  East-Indian  immigrants  are 
few  in  number  and  are  generally  of  Malay  stock ;  the 
same  is  true  of  those  who  come  from  the  islands  of 
the  Pacific. 

The  following  are  the  totals  of  these  various 
peoples  entering  the  United  States  in  the  last  twelve 
years : 


African  (black),  .     .     .     .     .     .  33,000 

Cuban,    44,500 

East-Indian,   5,500 

Mexican,   39,000 


8 


IMMIGRANT  RACES 


Pacific  Islander,   1,000 

Spanish- American,   11,000 

West  Indian  (except  Cuban),      .     .  12,000 

Total,   146,000 


This  is  only  1.6  per  cent  of  the  total  immigration 
(9,265,000)  into  the  United  States  in  this  period. 

The  following  scheme  of  the  immigrants  to  North 
America  includes  forty-one  different  peoples,  thirty- 
seven  of  which  are  mentioned  in  the  classified  list  of 
the  government.  The  five  not  specified  in  the  report 
of  the  Bureau  of  Immigration  are  the  Letts,  Alba- 
nians, Persians,  Gypsies,  and  Esthonians.  The  Letts 
are  possibly  grouped  in  the  governmental  report 
with  the  Lithuanians,  the  Esthonians  with  the  Finns ; 
while  the  remaining  three  are  included  in  the  common 
denomination  "other  peoples."  The  Macedonians, 
many  of  whom  are  now  entering,  are  classified  with 
the  Bulgarians. 


INTRODUCTION 


9 


SCHEME  OF  IMMIGRANT  PEOPLES  COMING 
TO  NORTH  AMERICA 


Stock.  Group. 

Teutonic 


Keltic 
Slavonic 


Aryan 


Semitic 
Sinitic 

Sibiric 


Lettic 
Italic 

Hellenic 

Illyric 

Indo-Iranic 

Chaldean 

Chinese 

Japanese 

Finnic 

Tataric 


Peoples. 

Scandinavians^    Dutch,  Flemish, 
English,  German. 
Irish,  Scotch,  Welsh. 
Bulgarian,    Bosnian,  Bohemian, 
Croatian,    Dalmatian,  Herzego- 
vinian,    Montenegrin,  Moravian, 
Polish,  Russian,  Ruthenian,  Slo- 
vene, Slovak,  Servian. 
Letts,  Lithuanians. 
French,  Italians,  Portuguese,  Rou- 
manians, Spanish. 
Greeks. 
Albanians. 

Armenians,  Persians,  Gypsies. 
Hebrews,  Syrians. 
Chinese. 

Japanese,  Koreans. 
Finns,  Magyars. 
Turks. 


10 


IMMIGRANT  RACES 


America  is  a  nation  of  immigrants.  If  we  take  the 
above  grouping  and  add  to  it  the  African  group,  the 
stock  whence  the  present  population  is  drawn  would 
be  as  follows: 


THI  STOCK.  r^OM  WHICH    OUR  POPULATION  It)  DRAWN 


By  this  it  is  seen  that  the  vast  majority  of  the 
population  of  the  country  is  made  up  of  the  Aryan 
stock. 

The  number  of  immigrants  that  have  landed  in 
North*  America  during  the  last  ninety  years  is  about 
30,000,000.  Eighty  per  cent,  or  23,500,000,  have 
entered  in  the  last  fifty  years.  The  banner  year  was 
1907,  when  1,508,051  landed.  Eighty-two  per  cent 
of  these  peoples  are  between  fourteen  and  forty-five 
years  of  age,  another  13  per  cent  are  below  fourteen 
years,  and  the  remaining  5  per  cent  are  over  forty- 
five  years.  The  illiteracy  of  some  immigrant  nations 
rises  to  70  per  cent,  in  others  it  falls  below  2  per  cent. 
Some  bring  little  money  with  them  while  others  bring 


INTRODUCTION 


11 


much ;  85  per  cent  have  less  than  $50  per  person 
when  they  land. 

Many  immigrants  return  to  the  home  land  after 
being  in  North  America  for  a  season.  Exact  figures 
are  not  available  but  it  is  safe  to  say  that  25  per  cent 
of  those  who  come  return  to  their  native  country. 

The  following  is  a  study  of  the  distinct  peoples  who 
form  this  stream  of  immigrants  into  North  America. 

Bibliography  (General) 

Races  of  Men — Petschel. 
Races  of  Men — Deniker. 
Races  of  Men — Haddon. 
Races  and  Peoples — Brinton. 
Races  of  Europe — Ripley. 
Anthropology — Taylor. 

Some  First  Steps  in  Human  Progress — Starr.  (1910. 
Chautauqua  Press.) 

The  Statesman's  Year  Book. 

Government  and  Parties  in  Continental  Europe — 
A.  L.  Lowell.  (1900.) 

Race  Improvement  in  the  United  States,  1909- 
(American  Academy  of  Social  and  Political  Science.) 

Our  People  of  Foreign  Speech — McLanahan. 

Races  and  Immigrants  in  America — J.  R.  Commons. 


I.    THE  TEUTONIC  GROUP 


The  modern  nations  of  Teutonic  descent  are:  the 
German-speaking  population  of  the  German  and 
Austrian  Empires,  the  Swedes  and  Norwegians,  the 
Danes,  the  Hollanders,  the  peoples  of  W'estern 
Switzerland  and  the  English  of  the  British  Isles. 
The  following  is  their  distribution  in  Europe : 


CHAl^T  5HO\01WG,  DlVie-IOKI  07  TEOTOMIC  PEO?i.i:e» 


The  main  divisions  are: 

1.  The  Germans,  who  occupy  the  most  southern 
part  of  the  territory  inhabited  by  the  Teutons  in  the 
empires  of  Germany  and  Austria.  They  number 
about  64,000,000. 

2.  The  Scandinavians,  who  occupy  the  northern 
peninsula  of  Europe  (Sweden  and  Norway)  together 


14 


IMMIGRANT  RACES 


with  Denmark  and  Iceland.  They  number  oout 
10,200,000. 

3.  The  English,  occupA^ing  the  major  part  of 
the  British  Isles  and  numbering  about  31,000,000. 

4.  The  Hollanders,  occupying  the  lowlands  we 
of  Germany,  and  numbering  about  5,500,000. 

5.  The  Flemish,  occupying  Flanders,  the  western 
portion  of  Belgium,  and  numbering  about  3,000,000. 

6.  The  Swiss,  who  occupy  the  Republic  to  the 
south  of  Germany,  are  for  the  most  part  of  Teutonic 
stock.  Those  who  speak  German  number  about 
2,500,000. 

The  modern  Teutonic  peoples  in  Europe  number 
about  118,200,000  and  inhabit  the  portion  of  the 
ethnological  map,  page  4,  ha\ang  perpendicular 
lines. 

Language 

The  languages  spoken  by  the  above  nations  are 
divided  into  three  main  groups : 

(1)  The  Scandinavian:  The  old  form  of  this 
tongue  is  still  spoken  in  Iceland  and  the  Faroe 
Islands.  The  derived  tongues  are  Danish,  spoken 
by  the  people  of  Denmark,  2,400,000  in  number;  the 
Norwegian,  spoken  by  the  people  of  Norway,  about 
2,500,000  in  number ;  and  the  Swedish,  spoken  by  the 
people  of  Sweden,  "about  5,200,000  in  number. 

(2)  The  Germanic,  spoken  by  about  75,000,000, 
is  divided  into  (a)  Low  German  and  (b)  High  Ger- 
man. 


TEUTONIC  GROUP 


15 


(a)  The  Low  German  dialects  include:  Friesian, 
the  language  spoken  by  the  people  of  Fries- 
land,  the  most  northerly  province  of  the 
Netherlands ;  Saxon,  the  language  spoken  b}'^ 
those  dwelling  between  the  Rhine  and  the  Elbe 
in  Northern  Germany ;  Dutch,  spoken  by  the 
people  of  the  Netherlands ;  Flemish,  spoken 
by  the  people  of  Flanders,  the  western 
province  of  Belgium ;  and  Piatt  Deutsch 
(Low  German)  spoken  by  the  people  of 
Northern  Germany. 

(b)  High  German,  w^hich  includes  the  Thuringian, 
Franconian,  Swabian,  Alsatian,  Swiss  and 
Bavarian  dialects. 

(3)  English,  which  is  spoken  by  about  31,000,000 
persons  of  Teutonic  stock  in  Great  Britain  and  Ire- 
land. 

Government 

The  Teutons  are  all  self-governed,  they  owe  no 
allegiance  to  sovereigns  of  another  race. 

The  English,  the  Germans  in  Germany,  the  Dutch, 
the  Danes,  the  Swedes  and  the  Norwegians  have  con- 
stitutional monarchy.  The  King  and  representatives 
of  the  people  rule.  Local  government  is  assured  the 
greatest  freedom  consistent  with  national  harmony, 
and  more  and  more  the  sovereign  in  these  countries 
is  becoming  a  social  rather  than  a  political  head. 

In  Austro-Hungary,  the  Teuton  and  the  Magyar 
have  formed  a  dual  monarchy,  but  here  also  the  form 


16 


IMMIGRANT  RACES 


of  government  prevalent  in  Teutonic  countries 
obtains.  In  Switzerland  the  form  of  government  is 
a  federated  republic,  the  executive  vested  in  a  Federal 
Council,  composed  of  seven  members,  whose  President 
and  Vice-President  form  the  first  magistrates  of  the 
Republic. 

The  trend  in  governmental  affairs  among  the  Teu- 
tonic peoples  is  toward  democracy ;  this  is  most  ap- 
parent in  Norway. 

Religion 

Of  the  118,200,000  Teutons  in  Europe,  fully 
78  per  cent  are  Protestants.  The  countries  of  Eng- 
land, Norway,  Sweden  and  Denmark  are  wholly  Prot- 
estant ;  Germany  is  two  thirds  Protestant ;  three  out 
of  every  five  in  the  Netherlands  are  of  that  faith;  in 
Switzerland  the  Protestants  outnumber  the  Roman 
Catholics  almost  two  to  one. 

The  Roman  Catholics,  about  26,000,000  in  number, 
are  chiefly  found  in  the  Netherlands,  in  Switzerland 
and  in  Southern  German3^,  while  practically  the  whole 
of  the  Teutonic  group  in  Austria  is  of  that  faith. 

In  each  of  the  monarchical  governments  there  is 
a  state  church,  but  religious  freedom  is  guaranteed 
to  all  forms  of  worship.  In  Denmark  and  Sweden 
the  Lutheran  Church  is  the  state  church ;  in  Norway, 
the  Evangehcal  Lutheran;  in  the  Netherlands,  the 
Dutch  Reformed — but  allowances  are  made  for 
Roman  Catholics  and  Jews ;  in  England,  the  Anglican 
Church ;  in  Austria,  the  Roman  Catholic ;  and  in 
Germany,  the  relation  between  Church  and  State 


TEUTONIC  GROUP 


17 


varies  in  different  parts  of  the  Empire.  In  Switzer- 
land no  one  is  bound  to  pay  taxes  to  defray  the 
expenses  of  a  creed  to  which  he  does  not  belong,  and 
absolute  liberty-  of  conscience  is  guaranteed  to  all. 

Immigration 

The  total  immigration  of  the  Teutonic  peoples  into 
the  United  States  for  the  last  ninety  years  is  not 
less  than  11,000,000.  Of  these  1,870,000  or  17  per 
cent  are  Scandinavians;  145,000  or  1.3  per  cent  are 
from  Switzerland;  164,000  or  1.5  per  cent  are  Dutch 
from  the  Netherlands ;  5,000,000  or  45.4  per  cent 
are  Germans;  and  the  remainder,  3,821,000  or  35.2 
per  cent,  are  English.  Before  1870,  the  Teutons 
formed  more  than  one  half  of  the  immigrants  into 
the  United  States;  in  the  last  decade  (1900-1909) 
that  group  is  less  than  20  per  cent  of  the  whole 
(18.5  per  cent).  The  total  number  (1,521,142)  of 
Teutonic  immigrants  coming  to  North  America  in 
the  last  decade  is  20  per  cent  larger  than  the  total 
(1,259,506)  for  1861-1870;  but  they  formed  53.4 
per  cent  of  the  total  number  of  immigrants  forty 
years  ago  and  only  18.5  per  cent  for  1900-1909. 
During  the  five  decades,  1850-1900,  the  Teutons 
furnished  more  than  50  per  cent  of  all  immigrants 
coming  to  the  United  States.  The  largest  number 
came  in  during  the  decade  1881-1890,  when  about 
3,000,000  Teutons  landed  in  America.  Since  then 
the  numbers  have  fallen  rapidly.  The  last  decade 
of  the  nineteenth  century  added  a  million  and  a 
quarter  and  the  first  decade  of  the  twentieth  a  million 


18 


IMMIGRANT  RACES 


and  a  half.  If  we  take  the  whole  of  North  America 
the  number  of  Teutonic  immigrants  entering  it  in 
the  last  decade  is  more  than  two  million  souls. 

Bibliography 

History  of  the  English  PeojDle — /.  R.  Green. 

The  Making  of  England — J.  R.  Green. 

The  Government  of  England — Sidney  Low. 

History  of  Our  Own  Times — Justin  McCarthy. 

Life  of  Gladstone — Morley. 

The  United  Kingdom — Goldrvin  Smith. 

Short  History  of  Germany — E.  F.  Henderson.  (1902.) 

Germany — S.  Baring-Gould. 

Evolution  of  Modern  Germany — TV.  H.  Dawson. 
Among  the  Danes — F.  M.  Butlin.  (1909.) 
Scandinavian  History — E.  C.  Otte.  (1874.) 
Lives  of  Charles  XII,  Gustave  III — R.  N.  Bain. 
Austria — Sidney  Whitman. 
Goths — Henry  Bradley. 

Story  of  Holland— J.  E.  T.  Rogers.  (1899-) 
Life  of  William  the  Silent — Frederic  Harrison. 
Norway — A.  F.  Mochler.  (1909-) 
Swedish  Life — G.  von  Heidenstam. 


II.    THE  KELTIC  GROUP 


The  modern  nations  of  Keltic  blood  are  the  Scotch, 
the  Welsh,  the  Irish,  the  Manx — subjects  of  the 
Kingdom  of  Great  Britain;  and  the  Bretons,  subjects 
of  the  French  Republic.  The  following  diagram 
shows  the  relative  proportion  of  these  peoples  in 
modern  Europe: 


CHAUT  5H0WINCV  DIVI&ION  Of  JCILTIC  PIOPLrS 


The  four  main  divisions  are: 

1.  The  Scotch,  dwelling  in  the  northern  part  of 
England,  and  numbering  about  4,500,000. 

2.  The  Irish,  dwelling  in  Ireland,  an  island  to 
the  west  of  England,  and  numbering  about  the  same 
as  the  Scotch. 

3.  The  Bretons,  dwelling  in  the  northwest  of 
France,  and  numbering  about  3,250,000. 


20 


IMMIGRANT  RACES 


4.  The  Welsh,  dwelling  on  the  southwest  of 
England,  and  numbering  about  1,800,000. 

5.  To  these  is  to  be  added  the  Manx,  dwelling  in 
the  Isle  of  Man  in  the  Irish  Channel,  and  numbering 
about  60,000. 

The  modern  Keltic  nations  of  Europe  number 
about  14,000,000  and  inhabit  the  portion  of  the 
ethnological  map,  page  4,  having  horizontal  lines. 

Language 

The  Keltic  languages  are  divided  into  two  main 
groups. 

(1)  The  Gaelic.  This  is  spoken  by  the  Scotch  of 
the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  by  the  Irish  on  the  west 
of  Ireland,  and  by  the  Manx  of  the  Isle  of  Man. 

(2)  The  Cymric.  This  is  spoken  by  the  Welsh 
in  Wales  and  by  the  Bretons  in  Brittany.  The  Corn- 
ish language,  which  belongs  to  this  group,  spoken 
by  the  people  of  Cornwall  two  centuries  ago,  is  now 
a  dead  language. 

The  Gaelic  and  the  Cymric  dialects  of  the  Keltic 
tongues  are  also  destined  to  disappear  before  the 
better  known  and  more  useful  languages  of  English 
and  French.  In  Ireland  less  than  half  a  million 
persons  speak  Gaelic,  while  not  more  than  4  per  cent 
of  that  number  are  ignorant  of  Enghsh.  Two  thou- 
sand years  ago  the  Kelts  were  the  most  important  of 
the  Aryan  stock  in  Central  and  Western  Europe, 
but  toda}^  they  are  the  weakest  of  the  Aryan  races 
on  the  continent.    Manx  and  Welsh  are  taught 


KELTIC  GROUP 


21 


along  with  English  in  the  public  schools,  but  the 
overwhelming  importance  of  the  English  language 
in  industrial,  commercial  and  political  life  is  daily 
becoming  more  apparent  and  is  making  inroads  upon 
the  modern  Keltic  tongues. 

We  cannot  speak  of  a  Keltic  type  or  race.  Here, 
as  in  the  case  of  the  Latin  peoples,  there  has  been 
considerable  intermixing  of  blood.  In  the  Highlands 
of  Scotland  and  in  the  west  of  Ireland  traces  of  the 
fair-haired  Northmen  are  apparent.  In  other  parts 
of  Ireland  are  found  two  or  three  types  of  the  North- 
western peoples,  while  among  the  Welsh,  the  Cornish 
and  the  people  of  Devon,  variants  are  found.  The 
same  is  true  of  the  Bretons,  who  are  more  or  less 
mixed  with  the  Western  race.  However,  the  physical 
characteristics  described  by  C«sar  and  Tacitus  are 
still  marked ;  the  dark-eyed  Kelts,  with  dark  hair  and 
brunette  complexion,  of  medium  stature,  are  seen  in 
Scotland,  Wales  and  Brittany ;  while  the  tall,  florid, 
raw-boned,  tawny-bearded  type  may  be  seen  in  South 
Wales  and  Ireland. 


Government 

The  Kelts  have  lost  all  self-government.  The 
Irish,  Scotch,  Welsh  and  ^lanx  are  subjects  of  the 
British  crown.  In  local  affairs  they  are  given  the 
same  degree  of  liberty  as  is  given  other  parts  of  the 
kingdom,  and  all  save  the  Manx  are  represented  in 
the  Parliament  of  Great  Britain.  The  Manx  have 
a  constitution  and  a  government  of  their  own  and 


22 


IMMIGRANT  RACES 


are,  to  a  certain  extent,  independent  of  the  Imperial 
Parliament  of  Great  Britain.  They  have  their  own 
laws,  law  officers  and  courts  of  law,  but  the  governor 
and  council  for  public  affairs  are  appointed  by  the 
Crown. 

Ireland  had  a  Parliament  of  its  own  up  to  1801. 
Then  the  Act  of  Union  was  passed,  discontinuing 
the  Irish  Parliament  for  representation  in  the  House 
of  Lords  and  the  House  of  Commons  in  the  British 
Parliament.  Ever  since  then  the  Irish  have  persisted 
in  the  effort  to  gain  Home  Rule,  and  they  will  win. 
The  Lord-Lieutenant  of  Ireland  is  appointed  by  the 
Crown,  so  also  are  the  Attorney  General  and  the 
Solicitor  General,  but  local  affairs  are  in  the  hands 
of  popularly  elected  councils. 

Scotland  was  joined  to  England  in  1707  by  an 
Act  of  Union.  The  local  government  is  in  the  hands 
of  a  local  government  board  composed  of  six  members 
appointed  by  the  Crown.  Wales  was  conquered  in 
1284  and  is  considered  an  integral  part  of  England, 
having  the  same  form  of  local  government  as  obtains 
in  England. 

The  Bretons  of  France  are  an  integral  part  of  the 
Republic.  The  French  of  the  North  have  a  strong 
infusion  of  Keltic  blood  in  them  which  accounts  for 
much  of  the  history  of  the  people. 

Religion 

Of  the  14,000,000  Kelts,  about  half  are  adherents 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  and  half  are  Protes- 


KELTIC  GROUP 


23 


tants.  The  Irish  and  Bretons  belong  to  the  former, 
the  Scotch,  Welsh  and  Manx  belong  to  the  latter 
faith.  The  Kelt  is  an  ardent  worshiper,  inclined  to 
fanaticism  and  bigotry,  and  intolerant  of  dissenting 
creeds. 

Immigration 

The  Kelts  have  contributed  to  the  population  of 
the  United  States  by  immigration  in  the  last  ninety 
years  about  4,500,000.  Of  these  the  Irish  number 
3,522,000  or  78.2  per  cent ;  the  Scotch,  565,000  or 
12.5  per  cent ;  the  Welsh,  206,000  or  6.8  per  cent ; 
and  the  French,  283,000,  half  of  whom  may  be 
credited  to  the  Kelts. 

The  number  of  immigrants  of  Keltic  stock  coming 
to  the  United  States  in  1900-1909  (473,508)  is  23.1 
per  cent  less  than  the  total  number  entering  in  1861- 
1870  (616,351).  In  the  latter  decade  they  formed 
26.1  per  cent  of  the  total  immigration  stream;  in  the 
former,  only  5.7  per  cent.  The  falling  off  is  due 
to  the  decreased  immigration  from  Ireland  which  in 
the  sixties  of  the  last  century  was  as  conspicuous  in 
the  incoming  stream  as  is  the  Italian  section  in  the 
immigration  of  today.  The  immigration  from  the 
other  Keltic  peoples  was  numerically  larger  in  the 
last  decade  than  it  was  forty  years  ago.  Taking  t])e 
whole  of  North  America,  the  immigration  stream 
of  Keltic  peoples  during  the  last  decade  is  about 
600,000.  The  high-water  mark  was  reached  in  1851- 
1860,  when  nearly  a  million  Keltic  immigrants  landed 
in  North  America. 


24 


IMMIGRANT  RACES 


Bibliography 

Scotland  from  the  Earliest  Times  to  the  Present  Cen- 
tury. (1901.) 

History  of  Scotland — P.  H.  Brown  (1909);  John 
Mackintosh  (3  vols.). 

Ireland  and  Her  Story — Justin  McCarthy.  (1903.) 

Ireland — J.  F.  Finerty.  (1909,  2  vols.) 

Ireland — Emily  Lawless. 

Wales — 0.  M.  Edwards. 

The  Welsh  People — Rhys  and  Jones. 

The  Little  Manx  Island — Hall  Caine. 


By  courtesy  of 


A  SLAV  TOILER 
'The  Survey" 


III.    THE  SLAVIC  GROUP 


The  Slavs  are  divided  into  three  great  groups 
according  to  the  territory  they  occupy  in  Europe. 


ChA^T  SHOWINC;  QtOCRAPHlCAL  T)IVIi>ION5)  OF  THE  5LMS, 

On  the  east  are  found  the  Great  Russians,  the 
White  Russians  and  the  Little  Russians  (Russ- 
niaks)*  or  Ruthenians.  These  number  about  86,- 
000,000. 

On  the  west  are  found  the  Poles,  the  Bohemians, 
the  Moravians,  the  Slovaks  and  the  Serbs.  The 
Poles  number  about  17,000,000 ;  the  Serbs  about 
150,000;  and  the  three  remaining  about  10,300,000. 

On  the  south  are  found  the  Servians  or  Serbs, 
Croatians,  Bosnians,  Montenegrins,  Slavonians,  Dal- 


♦Russniaks  is  the  name  generally  given  Ruthenians  living  in  the  northern 
part  of  Hungary. 


28 


IMMIGRANT  RACES 


niatians,  Slovenes,  Bulgarians  and  INIacedonians. 
These  number  about  13,000,000. 

The  Slavs  occupy  the  portion  of  the  ethnological 
map,  page  4,  marked  by  dots. 


Language 


The  Slavic  tongues  are  all  related,  but  those  of  the 
East  and  the  South  are  more  nearly  allied  to  each 
other  than  either  is  to  those  of  the  West.  Scholars 
recognize  four  idioms — Russian,  Serbo-Croatian, 
Polish  and  Bohemian.  Belonging  to  each  of  these  are 
dialects  and  sub-dialects.  The  three  divisions  of  the 
Russians  on  the  east  are  made  according  to  dialects 
into  Great,  White  and  Little  Russians ;  the  Slovenes 
of  the  Southeast  Alps  in  Austria  and  the  inhabitants 
of  Croatia,  Servia,  Herzegovinia  have  very  slight 
difference  of  language.  The  Bulgarians  of  the 
Danube  are  further  removed  from  the  Slovak  tongue, 
as  far  as  the  grammatical  construction  of  their  lan- 
guage is  concerned,  but  the  vocabulary  is  very  similar 
to  that  of  the  other  Slavs,  especially  the  Serbo- 
Croatian.  The  Slavs  who  dwell  in  Moldavia  and 
Slavonia  are  more  or  less  Romanized.  The  Slovaks 
of  the  northern  principalities  of  Hungary,  the 
inhabitants  of  Moravia  and  Bohemia  and  the  Serbs 
of  Lusatia,  have  their  dialects,  but  the  difference  is 
not  great.  The  language  of  the  Poles  in  the  former 
kingdom  of  Poland  and  of  Western  Galicia  has  its 
own  idioms  but  is  not  very  far  removed  from  the 
tongues  of  the  Slavs  of  the  W^est. 


SLAVIC  GROUP 


29 


Government 
1.    Self-Governed  Slavs. 

(1)  The  Russians,  under  the  autocratic  rule  of 
the  Czar,  number  about  94,000,000.  The  Emperor's 
will  is  law  in  the  land,  but  in  1905  a  State  Council 
(Duma)  was  created.  This  involved  granting  to  the 
people  certain  liberties  and  to  the  elected  of  the 
people  a  real  participation  in  the  control  of  affairs 
together  with  officers  appointed  by  the  Emperor. 
The  Duma  consists  of  members  elected  for  five  years 
representing  the  provinces  and  the  large  cities.  The 
members  are  chosen  by  the  elective  assemblies  of  the 
districts  or  towns.  Beside  the  Duma  a  Council  of 
the  Empire  was  created  in  1906,  which  consists  of 
an  equal  number  of  elected  members  and  members 
appointed  by  the  Emperor.  The  two  houses  have 
equal  legislative  powers  and  the  same  right  of  initia- 
tive in  legislation.  The  Empire  is  divided  into 
seventy-eight  governments  and  nineteen  provinces 
and  at  the  head  of  each  is  a  governor-general,  ap- 
pointed by  the  Emperor,  who  has  supreme  control 
over  civil  and  military  affairs.  The  affairs  of  the 
Empire  are  managed  by  great  boards,  each  of  the 
cantons  being  presided  over  by  the  elder  who  is 
chosen  by  the  people  in  their  village  communities 
called  "Mir."  Besides  this  there  are  the  district  and 
provincial  assemblies  that  administer  the  economic 
affairs  of  the  district.  There  is  an  average  of  70 
per  cent  of  illiterates  in  the  land. 

(2)  The  Servians,  whose  kingdom  is  small,  number 
about  2,500,000,  and  of  these  fully  93  per  cent  are 


A  RUSSIAN 


SLAVIC  GROUP 


31 


Slavs.  The  executive  power  is  vested  in  a  King  and 
a  Council  of  Ministers.  Legislative  authority  is 
shared  between  the  King  and  the  National  Assembly, 
composed  of  160  deputies  elected  by  the  people.  The 
State  Council  consists  of  members  partly  appointed 
by  the  King  and  partly  by  the  National  Assembly ; 
its  functions  are  largely  judicial  and  the  body  is 
always  sitting.  Elementary  education  is  compulsory 
and  the  primary  school  education  is  free.  Less  than 
20  per  cent  of  the  people  can  read  and  write. 

(3)  The  Montenegrins,  whose  principality  is  small 
but  absolutely  independent,  number  about  250,000. 
The  government  is  a  constitutional  monarchy.  The 
members  of  its  National  Assembly,  which  first  met  in 
1906,  are  chosen  by  universal  suffrage,  excepting 
twelve  who  are  ea:  officio  members.  On  August  28, 
1910,  the  reigning  Prince  was  proclaimed  King  of 
Montenegro.  Schools  for  elementary  instruction 
are  free,  attendance  is  compulsory.  The  degree  of 
illiteracy  among  the  males  is  low. 

(4)  The  Bulgarians  had  an  autonomous  princi- 
pality which  was  created  by  the  Treaty  of  Berlin,  in 
1878,  under  the  suzerainty  of  the  Sultan.  In  1908, 
the  people  declared  their  independence  and  the  Prince 
assumed  the  title  of  King  of  the  Bulgarians.  The 
Turkish  government  presented  claims  for  railroad 
construction,  which  have  been  settled,  and  the  Powers 
have  recognized  Bulgarian  independence.  Bulgaria, 
inchiding  Eastern  Roumania,  has  a  population  of 
4,158,409.  The  executive  power  is  vested  in  the 
King  and  a  council  of  eight  ministers  nominated  by 
the  Crown.     The  legislative  authority  is  vested  in  a 


A  BOHEMIAN  WOMAN 


SLAVIC  GROUP 


38 


single  chamber,  the  National  Assembly,  which  con- 
sists of  members  elected  by  universal  manhood  suf- 
frage. Education  is  free  and  obligatory  for  a  period 
of  four  years  (8-12).  Illiteracy  is  yery  small. 
There  are  free  public  libraries  in  four  of  the  large 
cities. 

2.    Slavs  Subjected  to  Other  Nations. 

(1)  The  Poles,  to  Germany  and  Austro-Hungary 
— 3,000,000  or  more  Poles  owe  allegiance  to  the 
former  and  nearly  4,000,000  to  the  latter  ;  10,000,000 
Poles  owe  allegiance  to  Russia,  but  in  this  case  it  is 
brother  ruling  over  brother.  When  Poland  lost  its 
independence  in  1793,  those  subjected  to  Germany 
and  Austria  were  considered  a  part  of  the  respective 
empires  and  were  Germanized.  Russia  granted 
Poland  its  own  constitution  down  to  1830  and  a 
separate  government  till  1864,  but  after  that  date  it 
was  deprived  of  all  administrative  independence  and 
by  a  ukase  issued  in  1868  the  country  was  incorpo- 
rated with  that  of  Russia.  The  use  of  the  Polish 
language  in  administrative  affairs,  in  public  buildings 
and  in  pubHc  places  is  forbidden. 

(2)  The  Serbs  of  Lusatia,  numbering  about  150,- 
000,  owe  allegiance  to  Germany.  By  language  they 
are  more  closely  related  to  the  Bohemians  and  Poles 
than  to  the  Serbo-Croatians. 

(3)  The  Bohemians  owe  allegiance  to  Austria,  and 
number  about  5,800,000.  They  are  represented  in 
the  Reichsrath  by  150  members,  who  are  elected  by 
universal,  direct  and  equal  suffrage.  There  are 
another  200,000  Bohemians  in  the  Duchy  of  Silesia. 


34 


IMMIGRANT  RACES 


(4)  The  Moravians,  who  belong  to  the  Bohemian 
group  of  Slavs  in  blood  and  speech,  owe  allegiance  to 
Austria  and  number  about  2,500,000.  They  are 
represented  in  the  Reichsrath  by  forty-nine  members 
elected  by  direct  and  equal  suffrage.  In  both  Bo- 
hemia and  Moravia,  provincial  Diets  legislate  in  all 
local  affairs  affecting  taxation,  education,  church, 
charity,  etc.  An  efficient  system  of  elementary  edu- 
cation is  established,  attendance  compulsory,  and  less 
than  3  per  cent  of  illiteracy  is  found  among  the 
two  last-mentioned  peoples. 

(5)  The  Slovaks  owe  allegiance  to  Austro- 
Hungary  and  number  over  2,000,000.  Most  Slovaks 
are  under  Hungary  and  send  representatives  to  Par- 
liament, but  they  must  talk  Magyar,  which  is  the 
language  of  the  legislature.  The  government  also 
insists  on  Magyar  being  used  in  all  public  schools  and 
a  strenuous  effort  has  been  made  and  is  yet  being 
made  to  Magyarize  the  Slovaks.  They  have  very 
little  to  say  in  the  regulation  of  local  affairs. 

(6)  The  Servians  and  Croatians*  owing  alle- 
giance to  Hungary,  number  about  2,600,000.  Croatia 
and  Slavonia  send  three  delegates  to  the  upper  house, 
and  forty  to  the  lower.  They  have  the  privilege  of 
speaking  in  their  own  language  in  Parliament.  The 
provinces  have  autonomy  for  home  affairs,  education 
and  justice.  These  functions  are  discharged  by  a 
provincial  diet,  composed  of  ninety  members,  whose 
head  is  the  Ban.  Education,  supported  by  the  State, 
is  compulsory,  but  illiteracy  is  high. 

*The  Croatians  are  called  Horwats.  The  word  is  supposed  to  be  derived 
from  "Krowat."  signifying  "bleeding""  and  refers  to  the  conflicts  for  free- 
dom with  the  Hungarians. 


SLAVIC  GROUP 


35 


(7)  The  Serz'icnis  and  Croatlans  of  Bosnia  and 
Herzegovinia,  numbering  about  1,500,000,  owe  alle- 
giance to  Austro-Hungary,  to  which  the  administra- 
tion was  turned  over  by  Turkey  in  1878.  In  1908, 
the  territory  was  incorporated  into  the  Austro- 
Hungarian  territory.  A  Bosnian  Bureau  had  control 
of  affairs,  but  in  February,  1910,  a  new  constitution 
was  proclaimed.  The  Diet  is  made  up  of  92  mem- 
bers— 72  chosen  by  universal  suffrage  and  20  ap- 
pointed by  the  government.  Its  action  is  subject  to 
the  Austro-Hungarian  veto.  Education  is  free  but 
not  compulsory.  Illiteracy  is  high.  ^lilitary  ser- 
vice is  compulsory. 

(8)  The  Ruthenians  or  Little  Russians  of  Galicia 
owe  allegiance  to  Austro-Hungary  and  number  about 
4,000,000:  of  these  3,500,000  are  under  Austrian 
rule.  They  are  represented  in  the  lower  house  of 
Austria  by  106  members.  Their  economic  condi- 
tion is  very  poor,  centuries  of  oppression  having  left 
its  impress  on  the  people.  Illiteracy  is  high — more 
than  50  per  cent.  ^lilitary  service  is  compulsory'. 
The  provincial  Diet  of  Galicia,  consisting  of  161 
members,  elected  for  six  years,  has  control  of  local 
affairs.  The  Russniaks  also  have  the  communes,  and 
between  these  and  the  Diet  stand  district  representa- 
tives made  up  of  the  aristocracy  of  the  land,  who  are 
the  administrators  of  current  affairs. 

(9)  The  Slovenes*  of  Styria,  Carinthia  and  Car- 
niola,  owe  allegiance  to  Austria  and  number  about 

♦The  Slovenes  are  called  "Krainers,""  from  Krain.  the  name  g'iven  to  Car- 
niola.  They  come  from  this  province,  also  from  Carinthia  and  the  neigh- 
boring territory.  From  Krainer  comes  the  word  Griner  which  is  given 
Slavs  in  industrial  centers.   See  Our  Slavic  Fellow  Citizens,  page  148. 


36 


IMMIGRANT  RACES 


1,800,000.  They  have  the  same  form  of  local 
government  and  representation  in  the  national 
government  that  obtains  in  Galicia.  They  have 
fifty-two  representatives  in  the  lower  house  and  a 
provincial  government  in  each  pro^4nce.  Illiteracy 
is  about  30  per  cent. 

(10)  The  Slavs  of  Dalmatia,  who  are  Croatians 
and  Servians,*  owe  allegiance  to  the  Austrian  gov- 
ernment and  number  almost  500,000.  They  have 
eleven  members  in  the  lower  house,  and  have  a  pro- 
vincial Diet  of  forty-three  members.  Illiteracy  is 
about  44  per  cent,  and,  as  in  all  parts  of  Austro- 
Hungary,  military  service  is  compulsory. 

(11)  The  Macedonian  Slavs,  of  whom  there  are 
2,000,000,  are  subjects  of  the  Sultan  of  Turkey. 
They  are  Bulgarians  and  belong  to  the  Bulgarian 
Church. 

Thus  between  21,000,000  and  23,000,000  Slavs  in 
Europe  are  subjected  to  the  Germans  of  either  Ger- 
many or  Austria,  another  6,000,000  are  subjected  to 
the  Magyars  of  Hungary  and  another  2,000,000  are 
under  Turkish  rule.  More  than  95,000,000  are  in 
forms  of  governments  manned  by  their  own  people, 
but  many  of  those  under  Slav  rule  are  not  less  restive 
than  their  brethren  under  German,  Magyar  or  Turk- 
ish rule.  With  the  exception  of  Bohemia  and  Mora- 
via public  education  and  culture  are  neglected  and 
illiteracy  ranges  from  24  to  60  per  cent.  Military 
service  is  compulsory  everywhere,  and  the  economic 


*The  Servians  and  Croatians  differ  in  two  points:  (a)  in  religion,  the  for- 
mer being  Orthodox  Greek  Catholics  and  the  Croatians  Roman  Catholics; 
(b)  the  Servians  use  the  Cyrilian  alphabet  and  the  Croatians  the  Roman. 


SLAVIC  GROUP 


37 


condition  of  the  people  as  a  rule  is  poor,  and  in  many 
of  the  countries  political  life  is  oppressive  and  burden- 
some. 

The  Pan-Sla^dc  movement  has  for  its  objective 
the  unification  of  all  these  various  branches  of  the 
race.  The  leaders  do  not  desire  to  organize  a  polit- 
ical confederacy  under  Russian  protection,  but  they 
do  hope  to  see  the  "Slavonic  States  like  so  man}!^ 
chimes  ringing  in  harmony."  It  is  a  policy  of 
brotherhood,  an  effort  to  secure  for  Slavs  "the  grand 
principles  of  equality  of  nations,  those  rights,  invio- 
late and  inviolable,  that  are  by  nature  inherent  in 
all  people  alike." 

Religion 

Ninety-nine  per  cent  of  the  Slavs  are  Christians ; 
about  1  per  cent  are  Mohammedans.  The  believers 
in  the  Koran  reside  in  Bosnia  and  Herzegovinia. 

The  vast  majority  of  the  believers  in  the  Bible 
belong  to  the  Greek  Orthodox  Church.  Of  the  125,- 
500,000  Christians,  about  93,000,000  or  74.1  per 
cent  are  adherents  of  the  Greek  Orthodox  Church; 
31,000,000  or  M.9  per  cent  are  adherents  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church;  and  the  remaining  1,500,- 
000  or  1.2  per  cent  are  adherents  of  the  Protestant 
faith. 

The  members  of  the  Greek  Orthodox  Church  are 
found  among  the  Russians,  the  Bulgarians  and  Ser- 
vians. The  Bulgarians,  however,  have  their  own 
Patriarch  in  Constantinople,  and  a  holy  synod  in 
Sofia.    Those  of  the  Roman  Catholic  faith  are  the 


38 


IMMIGRANT  RACES 


Poles,  the  Bohemians,  Slovaks,  Croatians  and 
Slovenes.  The  adherents  of  the  Lutheran  Church, 
the  Reformed,  etc.  (Protestants),  are  found  among 
the  Bohemians,  Moravians,  Serbs,  Slovaks,  Slovenes 
and  Poles. 

Immigration 

The  Slavs  have  contributed  about  3,500,000  per- 
sons to  our  country.  The  Poles  lead  with  about 
1,500,000,  or  42.8  per  cent;  the  Slovaks  have  con- 
tributed about  400,000  or  11.4  per  cent;  the  Bohe- 
mians and  Moravians  about  500,000  or  14.3  per 
cent ;  the  Ruthenians  about  200,000  or  5.7  per  cent ; 
the  Croats  and  Slovenians  about  250,000  or  7.1  per 
cent ;  Servians  and  Bulgarians  about  200,000  or 
5.7  per  cent ;  all  others  about  450,000  or  13  per  cent. 
In  1870,  the  Slavs  composed  about  1  per  cent  of  the 
immigrants  to  the  United  States ;  in  the  decade 
(1900-1909)  they  formed  more  than  28  per  cent 
(28.1  per  cent).  It  is  a  fact  worthy  of  mention  that 
the  Slavs  of  the  Great  Russian  branch  form  a  small 
percentage  of  the  immigrants.  Those  who  come  are 
almost  wholly  from  the  peoples  who  live  in  subjection 
to  other  governments  than  their  own. 

Bibliography 
Poland— R.  Morfill. 

Last  King  of  Poland  and  his  Contemporaries — R.  V. 
Bain.  (1909.) 

Poland,  a  Study  of  the  Land,  People  and  Literature — 
G.  M.  C.  Brandes.  (1903.) 

The  Poles  in  the  United  States.     (Philadelphia,  1907.) 


SLxWIC  GROUP 


39 


The  historical  stories  of  Henryh  Sienkiewicz;  With 
Fire  and  Sword^  Pan  Michael^  The  Whirlpool^  etc.,  give 
vivid  pictures  of  Polish  History. 

Russia—^.  R.  Morfill  (1890.) 

History  of  Russia — A.  N.  Rambaud.  (1904..) 

Russian  Life — F.  H.  E.  Palmer. 

The  Slovaks  of  Hungary — Thomas  Capek. 

Our  Slavic  Fellow  Citizens— i;.  G.  Balch.  (1910.) 

Bohemia — Franz  Lutzorv.  (1896.) 

Bohemia,  a  Historical  Sketch — Franz  Lutzorv.  (1910.) 

Life  of  John  Huss — Gillet. 

Life  of  John  Comenius — Monroe.  (1900.) 

The  Balkans — W.  Miller.  (1908.) 

Lectures  on  the  Historians  of  Bohemia — Count  Lut- 
zow.  (1908.) 

The  Servian  People — Prince  Lazarovich-Hubeliano- 
vitch.  (1910.) 

Racial  Problems  of  Hungary — Scotus-Viator. 

Dalmatia — M.  M.  HolbacL  (1908.) 

Sketch  of  the  Religious  History  of  the  Slavic  Nations 
— Count  Krazniski. 

On  the  Trail  of  the  Immigrants,  The  Immigration 
Tide — Edward  A.  Steiner. 


IV.    THE  ITALIC  GROUP 


The  modern  nations  of  the  Italic,  Latin  or  Roman 
peoples  are  the  French,  the  Spanish,  the  Portuguese, 
the  Roumanians  and  the  Italians.  The  following 
diagram  shows  the  relative  importance  of  these 
nations  in  modern  Europe. 


CHART  SHOWING,  DfVIfjION  OF  LATIM  VLOVLT'b 


The  five  main  divisions : 

1.  The  French,  inhabiting  the  most  westerly 
state  in  Central  Europe,  number  about  39,000,000. 

2.  The  Italians,  inhabiting  the  central  peninsula 
of  Europe,  number  about  34,000,000. 

3.  The  Spanish,  inhabiting  the  peninsula  to  the 
south  of  France,  number  about  20,000,000. 

4.  The  Roumanians,  whose  country  lies  to  the 
west  of  Hungary  and  north  of  Bulgaria,  number 
about  6,000,000. 


42 


IMMIGRANT  RACES 


5.  The  Portuguese,  inhabiting  the  western  por- 
tion of  the  Spanish  peninsula,  number  about  5,500,- 
000. 

The  Itahc  or  Roman  peoples  thus  number  about 
104,500,000  and  inhabit  the  portion  of  the  ethno- 
logical map,  page  4,  marked  by  diagonal  lines  from 
left  to  right  upward. 

Language 

The  language  spoken  by  the  Italic  or  Roman 
peoples  is  derived  from  the  Latin,  and  comprises  five 
main  groups. 

(1)  The  French.  The  tongue  is  spoken  by  the 
people  of  France,  while  to  the  north  and  east  it  pene- 
trates into  portions  of  Switzerland,  Belgium,  and 
into  Lorraine  and  Alsace  in  Germany ;  to  the  south, 
into  Catalonia  and  Valencia  in  Spain,  the  Balearic 
Islands,  a  part  of  Sardinia,  Savoy,  and  the  French 
valleys  of  Piedmont.  It  comprises  many  dialects,  of 
which  Wallon,  Gascon,  Languedocian,  Rhodanian, 
and  Catalan  may  be  mentioned. 

(2)  The  Italian.  This  language  is  spoken  by 
the  people  of  Italy,  Sicily,  Sardinia  and  Corsica,  by 
those  dwelling  in  Southern  Tyrol,  in  the  Swiss  canton 
of  Tessin,  and  by  many  on  the  west  of  Istria  and  Dal- 
matia.  It  also  forms  a  substantial  factor  of  the 
Maltese  jargon,  which  is  chiefly  made  up  of  Arabic. 

(3)  The  Spanish.  This  language  is  spoken  by 
the  whole  population  of  Spain  with  the  exception  of 
the  Catalans  and  the  inhabitants  of  Galicia.  The 
former  speak  a  French  dialect  and  the  latter  speak 
Portuguese. 


ITALIC  GROUP 


43 


(4)  The  Roumanian.  This  language  is  spoken  by 
the  people  of  Roumania  (Moldavia  and  Wallachia) 
and  by  many  people  living  in  Transylvania,  in  the 
southeast  of  Hungary,  in  the  northeast  of  Servia,  in 
Bessarabia  on  the  southwest  of  Russia,  and  in  the 
lower  valley  of  the  River  Dniester.  The  Aromunes, 
a  people  dwelling  in  Macedonia  and  Epirus,  also 
speak  a  dialect  allied  to  Roumanian,  but  modified  by 
contact  with  Turks,  Greeks  and  Albanians. 

(5)  The  Portuguese.  This  language  is  spoken 
by  the  people  of  Portugal,  and  by  the  inhabitants  of 
Galicia  in  Spain.  This  latter  people  do  not  speak 
the  language  as  do  the  inhabitants  of  Portugal,  but 
an  idiom  allied  to  Portuguese  and  known  as  Galego. 

Philologists  also  classify  among  the  languages 
spoken  by  the  Roman  peoples,  the  Rheto-Roman 
tongue  used  by  the  people  of  the  canton  of  Grisoms 
in  Switzerland  and  by  the  Ladinos  of  the  Southeast 
of  Tyrol;  but  in  the  former  instance  it  is  rapidly 
being  displaced  by  the  German  and  in  the  latter  by 
the  Italian.  The  Friulans,  who  inhabit  the  basin 
of  the  Tagliamento  in  Venetia,  also  speak  an  idiom 
allied  to  Rheto-Roman,  which  is  being  displaced  by 
Italian. 

None  of  the  Latin  peoples  can  boast  of  much 
purity  of  blood,  so  that  one  looks  in  vain  for  unity  of 
type  in  any  of  them.  Nearly  the  whole  of  the  Iberian 
peninsula  was  occupied  for  generations  by  the  Arabs 
and  the  Berbers;  after  the  fall  of  the  Western 
Empire  (476  A.  D.)  hordes  of  Germans  poured  into 
Italy,  while  Sicily  and  portions  of  France  were  occu- 
pied by  Arabs ;  the  Roumanians  have  a  strong  mix- 


44 


IMMIGRANT  RACES 


ture  of  Slavic  blood;  the  Portuguese,  possibly,  have 
the  best  unity  of  type,  but  among  them,  especially  in 
the  north  of  the  country,  a  strong  mixture  of  Kelt 
and  Basque  blood  is  found.  The  north  of  France 
has  also  a  strong  infusion  of  Keltic  blood. 

Government 

The  Latin  peoples  are  governed  by  men  of  their 
own  nationality.  Italy,  Spain,  Portugal  and  Rou- 
mania  are  governed  b}^  Kings ;  France  is  a  republic, 
with  representative  law-making  bodies  and  a  Presi- 
dent. 

1.  France.  Since  1870,  when  Napoleon  III  was 
overthrown,  the  form  of  government  has  been  repub- 
lican. The  legislative  power  is  vested  in  the 
Chamber  of  Deputies  and  in  the  Senate;  the  execu- 
tive power  is  vested  in  a  President  and  a  ministry. 
The  members  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  584  in 
number,  are  elected  by  universal  suffrage.  The 
Senate  is  composed  of  300  members  who  are  chosen 
by  an  electoral  body.  The  princes  of  the  deposed 
dynasties  cannot  sit  in  either  house.  These  two 
houses  unite  in  a  Congress  for  the  choice  of  President, 
and  the  man  getting  an  absolute  majority  of  votes 
is  elected.  The  President  selects  the  ministry  from 
the  two  houses.  It  has  also  Conseil  d'  Etat,  which  is 
judge  in  the  last  resort  in  administrative  suits.  For 
administrative  purposes  France  is  divided  into 
eighty-six  departments,  at  the  head  of  each  is  a 
Prefect  nominated  by  the  government.  The  unit  of 
local  government  is  the  commune.    The  system  of 


ITALIC  GROUP 


45 


public  education  is  free  and  compulsory.  Illiteracy 
is  about  10  per  cent.  Military  service  is  compulsory. 
One  person  in  every  sixty-two  of  the  population  was 
convicted  of  crime  in  1906. 

2.  Italy.  The  executive  power  belongs  exclu- 
sively to  the  King  and  is  exercised  by  him  through 
chosen  ministers.  The  legislative  power  vests  con- 
jointly in  the  King  and  Parliament,  consisting  of 
two  chambers,  the  upper  and  lower.  The  upper 
house  consists  of  members  appointed  by  the  King 
for  life ;  they  number  more  than  300.  Members  are 
chosen  to  the  lower  house  by  electors  having  certain 
educational  or  property  qualifications.  The  country 
is  divided  into  administrative  divisions,  having  two 
principal  elective  local  administrative  bodies,  the 
communal  councils  and  the  provincial  councils.  The 
administrative  electorate  is  not  universal.  Educa- 
tion is  free  and  compulsory  in  the  lower  grades. 
Illiteracy  is  small  in  Northern  Italy  but  it  increases 
the  further  south  we  go  and  reaches  more  than  60 
per  cent  in  some  sections.  Military  service  is  com- 
pulsory. One  person  in  every  seventy-five  of  the 
population  w  as  convicted  of  crime  in  1906. 

3.  Portugal.  The  King  has  moderating  au- 
thority, the  legislative  power  is  vested  in  the  Cortes, 
composed  of  two  houses ;  the  House  of  Peers  is  made 
up  of  princes  of  the  royal  blood,  twelve  bishops  and 
others  appointed  by  the  King  for  life ;  the  members 
of  the  lower  house  are  elected  by  citizens  twenty-one 
years  of  age  able  to  read  and  write  and  pay  a  certain 
amount  of  taxes.  Primary  education  is  compulsory, 
but  the  children  of  the  poor  do  not  go  to  school  and 


A  ROUMANIAN 


ITALIC  GROUP 


47 


Portugal  has  as  high  a  percentage  of  ilHteracy  as 
any  country  in  Europe.  The  army  is  recruited  by 
conscription  but  exemption  from  service  can  be  pur- 
chased. One  person  in  332  of  population  was  con- 
^4cted  of  crime  in  1903. 

4.  RouMAxiA.  The  two  principalities  of  Walla- 
chia  and  ^loldavia  formed  one  province  in  1861.  In 
IvSTT  the}'  proclaimed  themselves  independent  of 
Turkey  and  elected  a  King.  The  legislative  power 
is  vested  in  the  two  houses :  the  Senate  is  composed  of 
120  members,  eight  bishops  and  two  for  the  universi- 
ties ;  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  is  composed  of  forty- 
three  members.  Electors  must  have  certain  educa- 
tional and  income  qualifications.  The  country  is 
divided  into  districts  for  local  government.  Educa- 
tion is  free  and  compulsory,  but  the  school  system  is 
in  a  very  backward  condition  and  illiteracy  is  about 
78  per  cent.  Militar}-  service  is  compulsor3\  One 
out  of  every  470  was  convicted  of  crime  in  1903. 

5.  Spain.  The  form  of  government  is  the  con- 
stitutional monarchy,  the  executive  being  vested  in 
the  King,  the  legislative  in  the  King  and  in  the 
Cortes,  composed  of  a  Senate  and  Congress.  Sena- 
tors number  360  and  are  life  members  or  appointed 
by  the  Crown  and  Corporations  of  the  State.  The 
members  of  Congress,  406  in  all,  are  elected  by  male 
Spaniards  twenty-five  years  and  over.  The  land  is 
divided  into  provinces  and  communes  for  local  ad- 
ministration. Most  of  the  schools  are  free  and  at- 
tendance compulsory,  but  illiteracy  is  75  per  cent. 
Military  service  is  compulsory. 


IMMIGRANT  RACES 


The  Latin  peoples  are  fond  of  display  and  in 
government  they  love  system  and  bureaucratic  form 
of  administration.  Many  of  the  mental  character- 
istics of  the  old  Romans  are  retained  by  them,  and 
the  tongues  derived  from  the  Latin  language  are 
the  ones  in  vogue  in  South  America,  parts  of  Canada 
and  North  Africa. 

Religiox 

The  vast  majority  of  the  Latin  peoples  are  Roman 
CathoHcs.  Of  the  103,500,000,  94  per  cent  are  of 
that  faith ;  of  the  remaining,  o  per  cent  are  adherents 
of  the  Greek  Orthodox  Church,  and  about  1  per  cent 
is  made  up  of  Protestants. 

In  Spain  and  Portugal  the  state  church  is  Roman 
Catholic.  Restricted  liberty  is  given  the  Protestants 
in  Spain,  and  absolute  toleration  in  Portugal.  The 
number  of  Rationalists  in  these  countries  is  about 
twice  that  of  the  Protestants,  but  all  told  both  groups 
do  not  exceed  30,000. 

In  France  there  is  no  state  church,  but  the  vast 
majority  of  the  people  are  adherents  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  faith.  The  number  of  Protestants  is  not 
more  than  2  per  cent  of  the  population.  All  forms 
of  religion  are  tolerated. 

In  Roumania,  the  Greek  Orthodox  Church  is  pre- 
dominant ;  nine  out  of  every  ten  of  the  population  are 
adherents  of  this  faith.  The  remaining  10  per  cent 
are  Jews,  350,000 ;  Roman  CathoHcs,  200,000 ;  Mo- 
hammedans, 35,000 ;  Armenians,  20,000 ;  Protestants, 
20,000;  etc. 


ITALIC  GROUP 


49 


In  Italy,  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  is  nominally 
the  state  religion,  but  freedom  is  guaranteed  all 
other  forms  of  worship.  The  Protestants  number 
less  than  100,000. 

Immigration 

The  total  immigration  of  the  Latin  peoples  into 
the  L^nited  States  for  the  last  ninety  years  is  not  less 
than  3,500,000.  Of  these  the  Italians  have  contrib- 
uted 83  per  cent ;  the  French,  8.6  per  cent ;  the 
Portuguese,  5  per  cent ;  the  Roumanians,  2.4  per 
cent ;  and  the  Spanish,  0.9  per  cent.  The  Latin 
peoples  form  at  present  about  20  per  cent  of  the 
total  immigration  from  Europe  into  the  United 
States.  The  Roumanians  are  recent  immigrants 
and  the  number  of  this  strong  people  coming  into 
the  country  is  annually  increasing.  The  number 
coming  from  France,  Spain  and  Portugal  is  small. 
Italy  alone  has  given  us  about  16  per  cent  of  our 
immigrants  in  recent  years. 

Bibliography 

Modern  Italy — Pietro  Or  si.  (1900). 

Italian  Life — Luigi  Villari. 

Story  of  Sicily — E.  A.  Freeman. 

Imported  Americans — Broughton  Brandenberg. 

The  Italian  in  America — Lord. 

History  of  France — Michelet.  (1909.) 

Modern  France — Andre  Lebon.  (1898.) 

History  of  France — Guizot.  (1909.) 

Belgium — G.  W.  T.  Omond.  (1909.) 

Modern  Spain — M.  A.  S.  Hume.  (1900.) 


50 


IMMIGRANT  RACES 


The  Spanish  People,  their  Origin,  Growth  and  In- 
fluence— M.  A.  S.  Hume.  (1901.) 

Lives  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  and  of  Philip  II — 
Prescott. 

The  Story  of  Portugal — H.  M.  Stephens.  (1903.) 
Portugal:  Its  Land  and  People — TV.  H.  Koehel. 


V.    THE  HELLEXO-ILLYRIC  GROUP 


The  Greeks 

The  only  living  representatives  of  the  ancient 
Hellenes  are  the  Greeks,  who  dwell  in  the  southern 
portion  of  the  Balkan  Peninsula.  The  people,  how- 
ever, are  not  limited  to  the  geographical  division  of 
modern  Greece.  There  are  more  Greeks  living  in 
Asia  Minor,  in  Turkey  in  Europe,  and  in  the  islands 
of  Cyprus  and  Crete,  than  inhabit  the  kingdom  of 
Greece.  It  is  estimated  that  the  Greeks  number 
about  9,000,000 ;  3,000,000  of  whom  are  in  Greece, 
4,000,000  in  Asia  Minor  and  Turkey  in  Europe,  and 
the  remainder  in  C^^prus  and  Crete  and  scattered  in 
the  leading  cities  of  Italy,  Roumania,  South  Russia, 
etc.    See  map,  page  4. 

Language 

Greek,  the  language  of  classic  literature,  is  well 
preserved  in  modern  Greece.  Some  of  the  Greek 
dramas  which  are  studied  in  our  universities  have 
been  rendered  in  colleges,  settlements,  etc.,  by  Greek 
immigrants  into  the  United  States.  The  language  is 
especially  free  from  foreign  words  of  modern  Euro- 
pean tongues,  but  scholars  affirm  that  30  per  cent 
of  the  Greek  roots  are  derived  from  other  than  Ar^^an 
tongues. 

Government 

At  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  centur}',  Greece 
was  under  Turkish  rule  and  had  been  so  for  four 


52 


IMMIGRANT  RACES 


centuries.  In  1822,  a  war  for  independence  was 
inaugurated.  The  Greeks  fought  brave'y  but  they 
were  overwhehned  by  the  Turkish  army.  Leading 
Europeans,  such  as  Byron,  for  example,  championed 
the  cause  of  Greece,  and  the  powers  of  England, 
France  and  Russia  joined  in  a  protest  against  Turk- 
ish rule  and  practices  in  the  country.  The  European 
powers  took  up  arms  and  crushed  the  Turkish  forces 
both  on  sea  and  land,  and  in  1830  the  Porte  was 
compelled  to  give  Greece  independence.  Monarchy 
was  established,  a  King  being  chosen  by  the  powers 
and  Greece  was  made  an  independent  nation.  The 
legislative  power  is  vested  in  a  single  chamber,  called 
Voule,  composed  of  235  representatives  elected  by 
manhood  suffrage.  The  Greeks  wanted  to  restore 
historic  Hellas,  and  in  1897  took  the  field  to  effect 
this,  but  were  defeated  by  the  Turks.  Primary  edu- 
cation is  compulsory,  but  illiteracy  is  high.  Military 
service  is  compulsory  and  universal. 


Religion 


The  present  King  of  Greece  is  a  Protestant  Lu- 
theran and  by  special  exception  he  is  allowed  to 
adhere  to  the  faith  in  which  he  was  reared.  The 
state  church  is  the  Greek  Orthodox  and  the  heirs 
and  successors  of  the  present  sovereign  must  be 
members  of  the  Greek  Orthodox  Church.  Complete 
toleration  of  worship  is  guaranteed  all  other  sects. 
The  clergy  owe  allegiance  to  the  Patriarch  of  Con- 
stantinople, but  the  real  ecclesiastical  authority  is 
vested  in  a  council,  called  the  Holy  Synod,  consisting 


HELLENO-ILLYRIC  GROUP 


53 


of  the  Metropolitan  of  Athens  and  four  archbishops. 
The  Roman  CathoHcs  have  three  archbishops  in 
Greece.  The  Mohammedans  number  about  30,000 
and  the  Jews  about  7000. 

Immigration 

The  Greeks  are  among  the  more  recent  immigrants. 
In  the  year  1900,  there  were  fewer  than  9000  in  the 
country.  In  the  last  decade  about  150,000  have 
entered.  In  the  year  1907,  46,283  entered.  This 
was  the  high-M'ater  mark.  The  poverty  of  Greece, 
the  racial  hatred  of  Greek  and  Turk,  the  success  of 
many  Greeks  in  the  United  States,  point  to  an 
increasing  immigration  of  this  people  into  North 
America. 

The  Albanians 

The  only  living  representatives  of  the  ancient 
Illyrians  are  the  Albanians  who  occupy  a  portion  of 
the  Turkish  Empire  in  Europe.  Albania  is  located 
north  of  Greece,  and  borders  on  the  Adriatic  Sea, 
forming  the  western  part  of  the  Balkan  Peninsula. 
The  people  are  called  Arnauts  by  the  Turks,  Al- 
banians by  us  and  by  themselves  Shkipetars  or  hill 
people.  Their  tongue  they  call  Shkipetar.  They 
number  about  2,000,000  souls,  but  Albania  proper 
has  only  half  that  number.  More  than  200,000 
reside  in  Greece ;  about  half  that  number  in  the  south 
cf  Italy ;  and  several  thousand  are  found  in  the  Slavic 
provinces  of  South  Austria. 


54 


IMMIGRANT  RACES 


Language 

The  Albanian  language  is  not  pure,  having  drawn 
largely  from  the  Turkish,  Greek,  Slav  and  Latin 
tongues.  It  has  two  leading  dialects — that  of  the 
north,  called  Gegish,  which  is  considered  the  purest 
representation  of  the  Albanian  tongue,  although  it 
contains  many  words  derived  from  Turkish;  that  of 
the  south,  or  Toskish,  which  is  not  as  primitive  as 
Gegish  and  carries  a  larger  proportion  of  foreign 
words. 

The  Albanian  tongue  has  no  literature,  but  it  is 
rich  in  folk  songs,  tales  and  proverbs.  The  Gegish 
uses  the  Roman  Alphabet,  while  the  Toskish  uses  the 
Greek.  Both  alphabets  are  modified  in  the  adop- 
tion. 

GOVERXMEXT 

The  proverb,  "the  men  of  the  mountain  are  free," 
has  been  verified  to  a  marked  degree  in  the  case  of 
the  Albanians.  With  rare  intervals  this  warlike 
people,  called  the  "Eagles  of  the  Balkans,"  has 
preserved  its  independence  and  seldom  acknowledged 
the  authority  of  any  foreign  power.  The  Albanians 
still  retain  their  patriarchal  institutions,  and  al- 
though they  are  nominally  a  part  of  the  Turkish 
Empire,  Ottoman  authority  is  slightly  recognized. 
The  nominal  authority  of  the  Porte  was  acknowl- 
edged in  1478,  but  the  country  has  enjoyed  a  great 
measure  of  freedom. 


HELLEXO-ILLYRIC  GROUP 


55 


Religion 

The  vast  majority  of  the  people  are  followers  of 
the  Mohammedan  faith.  About  200,000  are  Chris- 
tians, about  equally  divided  between  the  Greek  and 
Roman  Churches.  The  difference  in  creed  often 
leads  to  conflict.  The  enmity  between  the  Albanian 
and  the  Greek  is  largely  due  to  the  difference  of  faith 
among  people  in  adjoining  territory. 

Immigration 

The  Albanians  are  among  the  most  recent  immi- 
grants into  the  United  States.  There  are  no  more 
than  20,000  in  the  country.  They  come  largely  as 
an  accompaniment  of  the  Grecian  immigration  and 
are  drawn  chiefly  from  residents  of  the  cities  of  the 
Balkan  Peninsula. 

Bibliography 

High  Albania— 3/.  E.  Durham.  (IQOQ.) 
Illyrian  Letters — J.  A.  Evafis.  (1878.) 
Greece — James  A.  Harrison. 

Rambles  and  Studies  in  Greece — J.  P.  Maheffy. 
(1907.) 


A  LITHUANIAN 


VI.    THE  LETTIC  GROUP 


The  modern  nations  of  this  group  are  the  I^etts 
and  the  Lithuanians.  The  old  Prussians  belonged 
to  this  stock  but  they  are  extinct.  The  Letts  and 
the  Lithuanians  live  on  the  west  of  Russia,  in  a 
country  bordering  on  the  Baltic  Sea,  east  and  south 
of  the  Gulf  of  Riga,  extending  down  to  the  north- 
eastern corner  of  the  German  Empire.  Their 
country  is  100,000  square  miles  in  extent  and  made 
up  largely  of  forests  and  marsh  land. 

The  Lithuanians  number  about  2,500,000,  and 
live  south  of  the  Letts  in  the  provinces  of  Vilna, 
Grodno,  north  of  Russian  Poland  and  in  Western 
Prussia. 

The  Letts  live  further  north  in  Livonia  and  Kur- 
land  between  the  Lithuanians  and  the  Esthonians. 
They  number  about  1,500,000.    See  map,  page  4. 

Language 

The  Lithuanian  language  has  retained  many 
archaic  forms,  which  have  led  some  writers  to  believe 
that  this  people  has  the  best  claim  to  represent  the 
primitive  Arj^an  race.  The  claim  is  chiefly  based 
upon  the  characteristics  of  the  Letto-Lithuanian 
tongue — such  as  the  dual  number,  numerous  oblique 
cases,  an  archaic  phonology — which  are  of  a  primi- 
tive type. 

The  Lithuanian  language  is  spoken  by  more  than 
2,000,000  souls.    Many  words  are  drawn  from  Ger- 


58 


IMMIGRANT  RACES 


man,  Russian  and  Polish  sources,  but  the  tongue  in 
its  structural  form  is  unique. 

The  Lettic  language  is  spoken  b}^  more  than 
1,500,000.  It  is  related  to  Lithuanian  as  old  High 
German  is  to  Gothic.  Many  endings  of  words  in 
Lithuanian  are  dropped  in  Lettic,  as  also  are  some 
of  the  consonants.  The  language  shows  modifica- 
tions by  contact  with  German  and  Finnish,  while  it 
also  shows  the  influence  of  Russian,  Esthonian,  Livo- 
nian,  and  Scandinavian  words.  There  are  dialects 
in  the  language  but  literary  productions  are  based 
on  the  Middle  Lettic  tongue.  The  literature  in 
either  tongue  is  scant. 

Government 

The  Letts  and  Lithuanians  have  no  self-govern- 
ment. Living  in  a  country  that  had  no  natural 
defense  they  have  been  subdued  by  stronger  nations, 
but  the  forests  and  the  swamps  have  enabled  them 
to  preserve  a  degree  of  independence  which  nations 
more  favored  by  natural  resources  were  not  able  to 
do.  In  the  fourteenth  century  by  mutual  agreement 
Poland  and  Lithuania  were  united  and  when  the 
former  country  lost  its  independence  the  latter  was 
involved  in  the  catastrophe.  Lithuania  is  now  a 
part  of  the  Russian  Empire,  and  ruled  over  by  the 
Czar  of  the  Russias.  Strenuous  efforts  have  been 
made  to  Russianize  the  people,  but  thus  far  they 
have  retained  their  language  and  also  a  degree  of 
independence. 


LETTIC  GROUP 


59 


Religion 

The  Lithuanians  were  converted  to  the  Roman 
Catholic  faith  in  the  fifteenth  century.  They  are 
still  adherents  to  that  church,  with  the  exception  of 
a  few  who  have  gone  over  to  the  Greek  Orthodox 
Church.  The  number  of  Protestants  among  them  is 
small.    The  Letts  are  almost  wholh^  Protestant. 

Immigration 

The  Letts  and  Lithuanians  are  among  the  new 
immigrants.  Twenty  years  ago  few  were  found  in 
the  United  States,  today  the  number  is  not  far  from 
170,000.  During  the  last  twelve  years  165,000  have 
entered  the  country.  They  are  a  strong  people,  fair- 
haired  and  blue-eyed.  They  make  good  workmen 
and  are  found  in  large  numbers  in  the  mining  and 
steel  industries  and  in  the  stockyards. 

Bibliography 

No  books  are  published  in  English  giving  the  story 
of  the  Letts  and  Lithuanians.  Consult  a  good  encyclo- 
pedia. 


A  GYPSY  WOMAN 


VII.    THE  IRANIC  GROUP 


Among  the  immigrants  who  come  to  America  are 
the  Armenians  and  Persians.  They  belong  to  the 
Iranic  group  of  the  Aryan  family. 

The  Armenians 

The  country  of  the  Armenians  lies  partly  in  the 
northeastern  part  of  Asiatic  Turkey,  partly  in 
Asiatic  Russia,  and  partly  in  the  northwest  corner 
of  Persia.  The  people,  because  of  the  disturbed  con- 
dition of  the  country,  have  been  widely  scattered,  so 
that  there  are  more  Armenians  living  outside  of 
Armenia  than  in  the  land  called  by  that  name.  They 
number  possibly  4,000,000,  and  call  themselves  Haiks. 

Language 

The  Armenian  language  is  divided  into  old  or 
classical  Armenian  and  modern  Armenian.  The 
former  has  no  dialects,  the  latter  has  many  words 
derived  from  the  Turkish  tongue  as  well  as  many 
harsh  combinations  of  consonants.  The  alphabet 
used  is  supposed  to  be  derived  from  the  Greek  and 
was  introduced  about  the  fifth  century.  The  golden 
eras  of  Armenian  literature  were  the  fifth  and 
twelfth  centuries.  The  Bible  was  wholly  translated 
into  this  tongue  as  early  as  the  fifth  century.  The 
people  have  many  works  in  history  and  theology. 


62 


IMMIGRANT  RACES 


Government 

The  Armenians  have  no  self-government,  but  are 
subjected  to  Turkey,  Russia  and  Persia.  Their 
histor}^  goes  back  to  pre-Christian  da^^s  when  their 
land  was  trampled  upon  by  Persian  and  Parthian, 
Greek  and  Roman,  Mongol  and  Egyptian ;  and  dur- 
ing Christian  times  they  have  not  fared  much  better, 
for  Tatars,  Arabs,  Persians,  Russians  and  Turks 
have  been  their  conquerors.  Most  of  them  today 
are  under  Turkish  rule  and  have  been  so  since  the 
fifteenth  century.  In  1828  and  in  1878  Russia  took 
a  slice  of  their  country,  first  from  Persia  and  later 
from  Turkey.  In  1886,  they  revolted  against  Turk- 
ish misrule  and  after  they  had  endured  much  suffer- 
ing, the  Porte  was  compelled  by  the  interference  of 
England,  France  and  Russia  to  desist  from  its  red- 
handed  policy.  Little  freedom,  however,  is  given  the 
Armenians  of  Turkey. 

The  disturbed  condition  of  their  country  has 
resulted  in  scattering  the  people  to  the  four  quarters 
of  the  globe.  Few  of  the  principal  cities  of  the  East 
are  unknown  to  them,  and  in  many  of  these  cities  the 
Armenians  are  the  leading  merchants  and  money- 
lenders. The}^  are  as  familiar  in  India  as  in  the 
countries  of  Eastern  Europe,  while  the  leading  finan- 
ciers and  business  men  in  the  Ottoman  Empire  are 
of  this  race. 

Religion 

The  Armenians  are  said  to  have  been  converted  to 
the  Christian  faith  in  the  third  century.    In  the 


IRANIC  GROUP 


63 


fifth  centur}^  after  the  Council  of  Clialceclon,  tliey 
broke  away  from  the  Western  Church,  and  althougli 
they  were  one  with  the  Byzantine  Church  in  many 
of  their  doctrines  and  usages,  they  formed  a  distinct 
church  and  called  it  the  Gregorian,  after  Gregory, 
who  converted  them  to  the  Christian  faith.  The 
church  is  hierarchical  in  form,  the  head  being  called 
Catholicus,  under  whom  are  bishops.  He  is  appoint- 
ed by  the  Czar  of  Russia.  In  forms  of  worship  they 
differ  little  from  the  Greek  Orthodox  Church.  Mass 
is  celebrated  in  Old  Armenian,  but  preaching  is  done 
in  ^Modern  Armenian.  Several  attempts  have  been 
made  by  the  Popes  of  Rome  to  bring  them  back  to 
the  fold,  but  little  progress  is  made  and  the  efforts 
have  been  accompanied  by  much  dissension  and  many 
conflicts. 

Immigration 

The  Armenian  immigrants  are  not  numerous. 
There  are  at  present  some  80,000  in  the  country, 
25,000  of  whom  have  entered  in  the  last  twelve  years. 
The  annual  influx  is  steadily  rising.  The  tyranny 
of  Turkish  rule  as  well  as  the  success  of  many  Arme- 
nians in  this  country  are  influences  working  in  that 
direction. 

The  Persians 

The  Persians  occupy  a  native  state  in  Southwestern 
Asia.  They  call  their  land  Iran.  The  land  is  not 
thickly  populated  and  the  people  live  for  the  most 
part  in  cities  and  villages.    The  population  is  about 


64 


IMMIGRANT  RACES 


9,000,000.  Among  them  are  Arabs,  Kurds,  Leks, 
Gypsies,  etc.,  dwellers  in  tents.  Hence  the  people 
are  divided  into  two  classes — those  who  dwell  in  cities 
and  villages  and  those  w^ho  dwell  in  tents.  The 
Aryan  stock  is  considerably  mixed  up  by  Arabs, 
Semites,  Tatars  and  Negroes. 

Language 

The  Persian  language  has  three  forms :  Old  Per- 
sian, Middle  Persian  and  Modern  Persian.  The  last 
has  many  dialects,  of  which  three  leading  ones  may 
be  mentioned:  the  Pamir,  the  Caspian,  and  the 
Central.  The  literature  of  the  country  goes  back  to 
the  tenth  century.  It  is  rich  in  the  products  of  the 
imagination,  such  as  poetry,  tales,  fables,  anecdotes 
and  legends.  It  has  also  many  works  of  history, 
encyclopedias,  etc. 

Government 

The  Persians  have  self-government  although  their 
country  is  much  smaller  than  it  was  in  the  heyday  of 
its  glory.  Persia  attained  its  greatest  power  and 
influence  in  the  sixth  century  before  the  Christian 
era,  and  the  names  of  Cyrus,  Darius,  Xerxes,  Arta- 
xerxes,  etc.,  Persian  rulers,  are  familiar  to  every 
student  of  sacred  and  secular  history.  The  country 
was  conquered  by  Alexander  the  Great  in  the  fourth 
century  before  Christ.  In  the  third  century  of  the 
Christian  era  it  rose  again  to  power  and  threatened 
the  Byzantine  Empire,  but  it  again  fell  before  the 
onward  march  of  the  Arabs  inspired  by  the  Moslem 


IRAXIC  GROUP 


65 


creed.  In  the  thirteenth  century,  the  Mongols  under 
Genghis  Khan,  overran  the  country,  and  later  the 
Tatars  subdued  the  land.  In  the  sixteenth  century 
independence  was  again  secured  and  after  many 
vicissitudes,  the  present  dynasty  was  founded  in 
1795.  Up  to  the  beginning  of  this  century  the 
country  was  ruled  by  a  Shah  who  had  absolute  power 
within  the  limitations  imposed  by  the  Mohammedan 
religion.  In  1906,  a  change  was  effected  and  provi- 
sion was  made  to  share  the  State's  power  with  a 
Grand  Vizier  and  eight  ministers.  It  was  also  de- 
creed that  a  National  Council  and  Senate  should  be 
established.  The  former  is  to  be  composed  of  156 
members  and  the  latter  of  60.  The  Parliament  or 
lower  house  met  at  the  close  of  190T  and  before  the 
end  of  June  of  the  following  year — before  members 
were  elected  to  the  Senate — it  was  dissolved  and  the 
building  in  which  they  met  was  partly  demolished  by 
the  militia.  The  country  was  in  a  condition  of  in- 
surrection and  both  England  and  Russia  were  bring- 
ing their  influence  to  bear  upon  the  Shah  to  summon 
a  representative  assembly.  In  July,  1909,  the  na- 
tionalists captured  the  capital,  Teheran,  and  the 
Shah  abdicated.  A  new  Shah  was  proclaimed  and 
in  December  he  opened  the  new  Parliament.  The 
law  of  the  land  is  that  of  Mohammedan  religion. 
The  country  is  divided  into  thirty-five  political  divi- 
sions, over  each  of  which  a  Governor,  appointed  by 
the  Shah,  is  placed.  He  has  almost  absolute  power 
in  the  territory  over  which  he  rules.  The  subordi- 
nate officers  appointed  by  him  have  as  their  chief 
duty  the  collection  of  the  revenue. 


66 


IMMIGRANT  RACES 


Religion 

The  Persians  are  Mohammedans.  All  other  forms 
of  worship  are  tolerated  where  Europeans  reside,  but 
in  other  parts  of  the  country  the  lower  classes  are 
intolerant  of  other  faiths.  The  majority  (8,000,- 
000)  of  the  Persian  Mohammedans  belong  to  the 
unorthodox  sect  of  Islam,  called  the  Chiah,  and  about 
800,000  to  the  Sunni  sect.  The  difference  in  the 
sects  is  partly  doctrinal  and  partly  historical.  The 
Persian  priesthood  is  very  powerful  in  the  land  and 
is  opposed  to  the  introduction  of  Western  civiliza- 
tion. All  mosques  and  shrines  are  endowed  and  the 
salaries  of  the  priests  are  thus  provided  for.  The 
other  creeds  found  in  Persia  are:  the  Parsees,  about 
10,000  strong;  the  Nestorians,  about  30,000;  the 
Armenian  Gregorians,  about  50,000 ;  the  Jews,  about 
40,000,  and  a  few  thousand  Roman  Catholics.  These 
faiths,  exercised  in  parts  of  the  country  where  Euro- 
peans are  not  found,  are  subjected  to  persecution 
from  Mussulmans. 

Immigration 

The  Persians  in  America  are  still  few  in  number. 
There  are  not  more  than  8000  of  this  ancient  people 
in  the  country,  almost  all  of  whom  have  come  in  dur- 
ing the  last  decade. 

The  chief  agency  in  the  stimulation  of  these  immi- 
grants is  the  Protestant  missions  established  in 
Persia. 


IRANIC  GROUP 


67 


The  Gypsies 

Here  we  may  mention  a  people  closely  allied  to  the 
Armenians  and  the  Persians — the  Gypsies.  They 
are  supposed  to  have  left  the  Indian  Peninsula  about 
the  twelfth  or  thirteenth  century  and  have  been  rov- 
ing ever  since.  They  are  found  in  every  country'  in 
Asia  and  Europe,  except  Norway  and  Sweden. 
They  number  in  all  about  a  million.  The  Black 
Gypsies  are  of  Indo-Afghan  origin. 

Many  of  this  people  live  in  Roumania,  Turkey, 
Hungary  and  Russia,  and  some  of  them  have  come 
to  the  United  States.  There  is  no  way  of  knowing 
how  many  of  them  are  in  America  for  they  enter  as 
inhabitants  of  the  country  whence  they  emigrated. 

Bibliography 

Armenian  Awakening— L.  ^rpee.  (1909-)  University 
of  Chicago  Press. 

Persia — S.  G.  W.  Benjamin. 

The  Gypsies — Leland.  (1882.) 

History  of  the  Gypsies — Simson.  (1878.) 


VIII.    THE  CHALDEAN  GROUP 


The  only  true  representative  of  the  Semitic  stock 
that  comes  to  the  United  States  is  the  Jew.  The 
race  belongs  to  the  Chaldean  group  of  this  stock. 
The  S^^rians  may  well  be  classified  here  for  they  are 
the  product  of  the  interminglings  of  Arabs  with  the 
descendants  of  Jews  and  Phoenicians. 

The  Jews 

When  Jerusalem  was  taken  by  the  Romans,  the 
Jews  may  be  said  to  have  lost  their  country.  They 
are  found  in  all  lands  but  they  cannot  call  an^^  part 
of  the  globe  their  home.  The  total  number  living 
today  is  estimated  at  about  10,000,000,  nearly  one 
sixth  of  whom  are  in  the  United  States.  There  are 
not  many  found  in  Asia  and  Africa,  but  in  every 
European  country  save  Scotland,  Jews  are  found. 
Many  of  them  are  found  also  in  South  America  and 
Australia. 

The  Jewish  type  is  well  known — the  arched  nose, 
soft  and  vivacious  eyes,  frizzy  hair,  long  face. 
There  are  two  different  types  in  the  matter  of  com- 
plexion, the  fair  or  red  and  the  dark.  The  race 
has  for  centuries  been  dispersed  over  the  earth,  has 
mixed  with  all  civihzed  peoples,  and  still  it  has  pre- 
served its  individuality  to  a  remarkable  degree. 

Language 

The  great  majority  of  the  elews  today  do  not 
know  Hebrew,  which  is  a  dead  language.     The  Ian- 


70 


IMMIGRANT  RACES 


guage  of  Canaan  belonged  to  the  Semitic  family  of 
languages  and  was  practically  identical  with  Phoeni- 
cian, Moabite,  etc.  The  alphabet  used  by  them  was 
the  Phoenician,  which  later  was  modified  by  what  is 
known  as  the  Assyrian  script.  The  Jews  today  use 
this  alphabet,  but  most  of  them  speak  particular 
kinds  of  jargon,  the  most  common  of  which  is  Yid- 
dish, made  up  of  Judeo-German. 

Their  literature  is  divided  into  nine  periods,  be- 
ginning a  thousand  years  before  Christ  and  continu- 
ing to  the  present.  From  the  earliest  time  to  the 
eighth  century  of  our  era,  the  writers  were  almost 
wholly  given  to  the  interpretation  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment and  works  of  theology  and  philosophy.  Under 
the  impetus  of  Arabic  culture  in  the  eighth  cen- 
tury many  mathematicians,  physicians,  astronomers, 
grammarians,  chroniclers,  etc.,  arose.  In  the  intel- 
lectual awakening  of  Europe,  the  Jews  took  a  promi- 
nent part,  and  some  of  the  most  eminent  scholars  and 
writers  of  the  day  are  of  this  race.  In  the  intellec- 
tual pursuits  of  European  nations  for  the  last  thou- 
sand years  the  Jews  have  played  a  prominent  part. 

Government 

Having  no  country  of  their  own  they  have  no 
form  of  government  that  is  distinctly  Hebrew.  They 
have,  however,  in  many  instances  stood  at  the  helm 
of  State  in  some  of  the  leading  nations  of  Europe 
and  Asia,  while  their  genius  for  finance  has  opened 
to  them  the  courts  of  kings  and  the  palaces  of 
potentates.    But  notwithstanding  the  influence  they 


CHALDEAN  GROUP 


71 


have  wielded  in  both  Europe  and  Asia,  it  has 
not  saved  them  from  suspicion,  hatred  and  direst 
persecution.  There  is  not  a  country  in  Europe, 
where  they  have  Hved  in  considerable  numbers,  which 
has  not  a  record  of  anti-Semitic  riot  and  bloodshed. 
In  the  dark  ages,  as  well  as  in  modern  times,  the 
Jews  have  been  driven  from  pillar  to  post  among  the 
nations  of  the  earth,  and  yet  they  have  retained  their 
individuality,  kept  their  religious  heritage,  and  in 
the  tussle  of  modern  life  wielded  a  power  and  influence 
far  out  of  proportion  to  the  numerical  strength  of 
the  people. 

Religion 

The  Jews  are  monotheists.  The  religion  of  the 
Old  Testament  in  a  more  or  less  modified  form  is 
believed  and  practiced  by  them.  From  them  we 
have  received  the  Scriptures  and  the  genius  possessed 
by  the  Hebrews  for  spiritual  truth  has  made  them 
leaders  in  philosophic,  theological  and  ethical  teach- 
ing. 

There  are  many  sects  among  them,  but  the  three 
leading  divisions  are  the  Orthodox,  the  Conservative, 
and  the  Reformed.  The  first  two  believe  in  the  faith 
of  the  Old  Testament,  aim  strictly  to  obey  the  law, 
but  diff'er  in  the  interpretation  of  Scripture,  etc. ; 
the  Reformed  believe  that  Judaism  is  plastic  and 
should  be  shaped  to  meet  the  times  and  the  country 
in  which  they  live — they  retain  the  spirit  of  the  Old 
Testament  religion  but  change  its  drapery  according 
to  the  demands  of  the  twentieth  century  civilization. 


72 


IMMIGRANT  RACES 


Immigration 

The  Jews  were  on  this  continent  at  an  early  date. 
During  the  Spanish  persecutions  in  the  sixteenth 
century  many  of  them  fled  to  this  country,  and  since 
then  they  have  continued  to  come.  The  influx  in 
the  last  twelve  years,  however,  has  assumed  propor- 
tions that  are  alarming  to  intelligent  Jews  and 
Gentiles  in  the  United  States.  The  number  of 
Hebrews  in  America  is  about  a  million  and  a  half, 
but  the  total  entering  the  country  in  the  last  twelve 
years  is  more  than  1,04?6,000.  More  than  half  the 
Jews  in  America  live  in  New  York  State.  They  are 
invariably  found  in  cities.  Upon  their  arrival  in 
the  new  country  they  usually  engage  in  small  trades ; 
but  they  quickly  find  their  way  into  commercial, 
artistic  and  professional  occupations  of  every  kind. 

The  Syrians 

The  Syrians  are  a  mixed  people,  being  the  descen- 
dants of  Arabs,  Jews,  Phoenicians,  etc.  Their 
country  forms  a  part  of  Asiatic  Turkey,  lying  be- 
tween the  Euphrates  River  and  the  Syrian  Desert, 
including  Palestine,  the  ancient  city  of  Damascus, 
and  the  mountains  of  Lebanon.  The  country  has  a 
population  of  about  three  millions  and  a  half,  but  the 
heterogeneous  character  of  the  people  makes  it  im- 
possible to  secure  that  national  unity  that  is  neces- 
sary for  a  native  State. 

Language 

The  Syriac  and  Aramaic  tongues,  dialects  of  the 
Semitic  languages,  are  used  by  the  people  of  the 


CHALDEAN  GROUP 


73 


country.  The  Syriac  has  been  considerably  influ- 
enced by  Arabic  which  threatened  to  supplement  it 
after  the  Mohammedan  conquest.  It  has  been  re- 
vived recently  by  the  efforts  of  missionaries  under 
the  title  of  Neo-Syriac. 

The  literature  in  the  Syriac  tongue  dates  back  to 
the  second  century  of  the  Christian  era  and  flourished 
till  the  tenth.  Many  important  manuscripts  and 
versions  of  books  of  the  New  Testament,  highly  treas- 
ured by  scholars,  are  found  in  the  Syriac  tongue. 

Government 

The  history  of  Syria  goes  back  to  the  days  of 
Abraham.  The  city  of  Damascus,  which  he  saw,  is 
the  same  as  that  bearing  the  name  today.  The 
country  was  conquered  successively  by  the  Hittites, 
Israelites,  Assyrians,  Babylonians,  Persians,  Greeks, 
Romans,  Egyptians,  Byzantines,  Mongols  and 
Turks.  It  is  now  a  part  of  the  Turkish  Empire  in 
Asia,  having  been  conquered  by  Turkey  in  the  year 
1516.  The  territory  is  divided  into  six  provinces; 
each  takes  its  name  from  the  leading  city  in  the 
province  and  is  ruled  by  a  Governor-General,  ap- 
pointed by  the  Sultan.  Here  as  elsewhere  in  the 
Turkish  Empire,  the  Christians  of  all  shades  of  belief 
have  long  been  persecuted  and  massacred,  and  their 
condition  today  is  little  better  than  it  was. 

Religion 

Most  of  the  people  are  Mohammedans.  Various 
Christian  sects  are  also  found  which  are  at  war 


74 


IMMIGRANT  RACES 


among  themselves  as  well  as  with  the  Turks.  The 
Maronites,  numbering  about  140,000,  are  Christians 
and  acknowledge  the  Pope  of  Rome,  although  they 
retain  their  rites  and  customs  and  consider  the 
Patriarch  of  Antioch  the  head  of  the  Church.  Mass 
is  said  in  Syriac,  the  priests  marry,  and  they  ad- 
minister communion  in  both  kinds.  Their  invet- 
erate enemies  are  the  Druses,  who  are  nominally  Mo- 
hammedans but  their  practices  are  mixed  with  Chris- 
tian usages.  Frequent  conflicts  take  place  between 
these  votaries  of  diff*erent  creeds,  and  at  the  close  of 
the  last  centur}^  so  barbarous  were  the  atrocities  per- 
petrated by  Mohammedan  fanatics  that  European 
powers  interfered,  restored  peace  and  guarded 
against  similar  outbreaks  in  future.  There  are  also 
in  the  country  some  Nestorians — adherents  to  an 
ancient  Christian  faith,  first  taught  by  Nestorius, 
a  missionary  who  flourished  in  the  fifth  century. 
Some  of  the  people  are  also  adherents  to  the  Greek 
Orthodox  faith. 

Immigration 

The  Syrians  are  among  the  later  immigrants. 
During  the  years  1897-1909,  more  than  55,000 
landed.  There  are  possibly  60,000  in  the  United 
States  at  present.  Many  of  them  come  from  the 
centers  where  Protestant  missionaries  labor  in  Syria. 

Bibliography 

History  of  the  Jews — H.  H.  Milman.  (1909,  2  vols.) 
Children  of  Israel— ^F.  Mord.  (1909.) 
The  Jews  at  Home — Pennell.  (1892.) 


CHALDEAN  GROUP 


75 


The  Polish  Jew — Basherville. 
The  Russian  Jews — Bernheimer. 

Essays  on  the  Sects  and  Nationalities  of  Syria  and 
Palestine— (1890.) 

Children  of  the  Ghetto — Zangtvill. 

My  Tour  in  Palestine  and  Syria — Deverell.  (1899-) 


I 


IX.    THE  TATARIC  GROUP 


The  only  representative  of  this  group  coming  into 
the  United  States  is  the  Turk.  The  word  Tatar 
comes  from  the  Chinese  word  Ta-ta,  of  which  the 
present  form  is  a  corruption.  The  Chinese  gave 
these  people  another  name,  Tu-kiu,  from  which  the 
word  "Turk"  is  derived.  According  to  old  Oriental 
traditions,  one  of  Japhet's  eight  sons  was  named 
Turk,  and  from  one  of  his  descendants  sprang  the 
twins,  Tatar  and  Mongol.  The  Cossacks  belong  to 
this  group. 

The  Turk 

The  Ottoman  Empire  takes  in  parts  of  three  con- 
tinents— Europe,  Asia  and  Africa.  The  total  area 
is  about  1,500,000  square  miles,  about  4  per  cent 
of  which  is  in  Europe,  embracing  about  one  third  of 
the  Balkan  Peninsula ;  another  43  per  cent  is  in 
Asia;  the  remainder  is  in  Africa.  The  population  is 
about  40,000,000,  15  per  cent  of  whom  are  in  Europe, 
42  per  cent  in  Asia  and  the  remainder  in  Africa. 
The  people  of  the  Empire  represent  a  great  variety 
of  races.  In  Europe  are  found  Slavs,  Albanians, 
Greeks,  Magyars,  Gypsies,  Circassians,  Jews  and 
Turks,  while  in  Asia  and  Africa  the  variety  of 
peoples  met  is  still  larger.  The  civilization  found 
in  the  country  is  as  varied  as  are  the  people.  Higher 
education  and  culture  is  established  in  the  capital, 
Constantinople,  while  people  living  in  a  barbarous 


78 


im:\mgrant  races 


and  savage  condition  may  be  found  in  other  parts  of 
the  Empire.  The  Turks  have  been  nomads,  hving 
on  the  product  of  their  herds,  and  more  than  half  of 
them  so  live  today.  The  tent  has  reached  its  highest 
perfection  in  Turkey ;  those  who  take  up  agriculture 
are  of  mixed  blood  and  manage  their  farms  in  a 
slovenly  manner. 

Language 

The  Turkish  language  belongs  to  the  Finno- 
Ugrian  group.  The  Turk  has  roamed  widely  over 
Central  Asia,  mixed  with  different  races  of  peoples 
from  the  Sea  of  Azov  to  the  Arctic  Ocean  and  from 
the  Carpathian  Mountains  to  the  Chinese  wall,  and 
yet  his  language  has  maintained  its  purity  in  a  singu- 
lar manner.  The  Turkish  dialects  are  today  scat- 
tered over  an  immense  area  comprising  half  of  Asia 
and  a  large  portion  of  Eastern  Europe,  so  that  it 
has  been  said  that  an  Osmanli  Turk  from  Constanti- 
nople can  converse  w^ith  a  Yakut,  in  the  delta  of 
Lena,,  on  the  border  of  the  Arctic  Ocean.  This  may 
be  an  exaggeration,  but  branches  of  the  Turkish 
language  separated  by  an  enormous  distance  are 
strangely  alike.  The  language  has  a  pleasing 
sound,  and  its  great  flexibility  enables  writers  to 
express  fine  shades  of  meaning.  It  is  losing  ground, 
however,  both  in  Europe  and  in  Asia. 

The  alphabet  used  is  the  Arabic.  The  Turk  has 
borrowed  words  from  different  tongues,  for  different 
uses,  so  that  in  poetry  words  of  Persian  origin  are 
found,  in  religion  those  borrowed  from  Arabic  are 


TATARIC  GROUP 


79 


conspicuous,  and  in  fishing  and  navigation  those 
taken  from  Greek,  Italian  and  EngHsh  are  in 
common  use. 

Turkish  Hterature  has  many  works  of  imagination, 
such  as  poetry,  legends,  novels,  etc.  Many  young 
Turks  are  copying  French  literary  ideals,  which  will 
result  in  better  productions  unless  the  dictate  of  the 
Sultan  stultifies  their  efforts. 

Government 

The  Sultan  has  absolute  authority,  limited  only 
by  the  law  of  the  Koran.  The  head  of  the  temporal 
government  is  the  Grand  Vizier  who  has  legislative 
and  executive  power  under  the  Sultan.  The  spirit- 
ual power  is  vested  in  the  Sheik-ul-Islam,  who  is  the 
head  of  the  Church. 

The  fundamental  laws  of  the  Empire  are  based  on 
the  precepts  of  the  Koran ;  next  in  importance  comes 
Ihe  "Multeka"  or  the  sayings  and  opinions  of  Mo- 
hammed; and  another  code  of  laws  is  found  in  the 
"Cahon  Nameh,"  the  decrees  of  Sol^^man  the  Mag- 
nificent. 

The  government  in  reality  is  in  the  hands  of  the 
Osmanli  Turks,  who  have  very  little  Tatar  blood  in 
their  veins.  They  are  a  product  of  the  intermingling 
of  Slav  and  Turk,  Albanian  and  Greek.  The  Os- 
manlis  are  said  to  have  come  into  Europe  early  in 
the  thirteenth  century  and  under  the  leadership  of 
strong  men  they  built  up  an  empire  that  extended 
from  the  walls  of  Vienna  to  the  borders  of  China. 


80 


IMMIGRANT  RACES 


The  zenith  of  their  power  was  reached  in  the  middle 
of  the  sixteenth  century.  The  crushing  defeat  sus- 
tained by  them  in  the  battle  of  Lepanto  (1571) 
marks  the  turning  of  the  tide.  From  that  day  the 
Turkish  power  waned.  The  Sultan  stood  under  the 
walls  of  Vienna  in  1683,  but  the  army  of  Islam 
steadily  gave  way  before  the  combined  forces  of 
Christendom.  Austria  and  Hungary,  Italy  and 
France,  England  and  Russia,  have  enlarged  their 
territory  by  pilfering  again  and  again  from  the 
Ottoman  Empire,  so  that  today  the  sway  and  the 
prestige  of  the  Turk  is  not  what  it  once  was.  One 
of  the  Czars  of  Russia  called  the  Sultan  "the  sick 
man  of  Europe,"  but  though  sick  he  has  been  able  to 
play  one  European  sovereign  against  another  so  as 
to  preserve  his  Empire  although  not  in  its  integrity. 

Many  attempts  have  been  made  to  secure  constitu- 
tional government,  especially  in  1856  and  1876,  but 
without  much  success.  Great  discontent,  especially 
in  the  army,  led  the  Sultan  to  issue  a  decree  to  call 
a  Parliament  in  1908.  It  met  in  December  of  that 
3^ear,  but  the  Sultan,  Abdul  Hamid,  tried  by  bribery, 
treachery  and  cruelty  to  overthrow  the  new  order 
of  things.  He  failed  and  the  Turkish  army  took 
possession  of  the  capital.  The  Parliament  deposed 
the  tyrant,  banished  him  to  Salonica  and  installed 
constitutional  government,  with  a  new  Sultan  as  its 
nominal  head.  The  country  is  divided,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  local  government,  into  Vilayets,  over  each 
of  which  a  governor-general  is  appointed  by  the 
Sultan.  Minor  divisions  are  found,  over  which  are 
inferior  authorities. 


TATARIC  GROUP 


81 


Religion 

The  Turks  are  Mohammedans,  but  often  they  are 
such  only  in  name,  for  the  superstitions  and  customs 
of  Shamanism,  the  reHgion  of  the  Tatars,  have  a 
deep  hold  upon  them.  The  veneer  of  Islamism  be- 
comes thinner  the  further  east  we  go,  and  the  Os- 
manlis,  the  most  fanatical  of  all  the  tribes,  have  a 
great  mixture  of  languages,  manners  and  customs. 
It  is  supposed  by  many  that  the  mixture  of  Aryan 
and  Semitic  blood  in  this  powerful  branch  of  the 
Tatar  race  accounts  for  its  stability  and  capacity. 
Modern  European  nations,  especially  England, 
France  and  Russia,  have  forced  the  Porte  to  grant 
freedom  of  worship  to  all  other  creeds  in  the  Empire, 
so  that  the  Roman  and  Greek  Catholic,  the  Armenian, 
the  Maronite  and  the  Nestorian,  the  Protestant  and 
the  Jew  are  tolerated.  Notwithstanding  this  free- 
dom granted  by  the  government,  fanatical  outbreaks 
of  Musselmans  against  Christians  are  of  frequent 
occurrence  and  it  has  been  proven  again  and  again 
that  these  are  instigated  by  government  officials. 

Immigration 

The  Turk  is  among  the  recent  immigrants.  There 
are  no  more  than  15,000  in  the  country  and  more 
than  13,000  have  entered  in  the  last  twelve  years. 
They  are  not  agriculturists  and  their  skill  as  tent 
makers  and  breeders  of  horses  helps  them  little  in  the 
land.  They  are  all  found  in  the  cities  engaged,  in 
commerce  and  business,  and  catering  to  those  who 
are  fond  of  Oriental  fashions. 


82 


IMMIGRANT  RACES 


BiBLIOGKAPHY 

Story  of  Turkey— Stanley  Lane.  (1888.) 

Revolution  in  Constantinople  and  Turkey — W.  M. 
Ramsey.  (IplO.) 

Awakening  of  Turkey— F.  Knight.  (1909.) 

Shadow  of  the  Crescent  (story) — E.  B.  Mitchell. 
(1909.) 


A  LAPLAND  WOMAN 


X.    THE  FINNIC  GROUP 


Of  this  group  tliree  peoples  come  to  the  United 
States — the  Finns,  the  Esthonians  and  the  Magyars. 
They  form  a  part  of  the  great  Asiatic  race  although 
found  in  Europe.  The  vast  majority  of  the  peoples 
of  Asia  are  called  Mongolians* — after  a  country 
located  between  Siberia  and  China — or  the  yellow 
race,  because  of  the  color  of  the  skin. 

The  Finns 

Many  branches  of  this  people  are  scattered 
through  the  northern  and  eastern  parts  of  Russia. 
The  Finns  call  themselves  Suomi,  or  the  people  of 
the  swamp  or  sea-land.  They  reside  on  the  shores 
of  the  Gulf  of  Bothnia,  of  the  Gulf  of  Finland,  and 
of  the  Baltic  Sea,  and  much  of  their  country  is  made 
up  of  marshy  ground.  They  are  an  ancient  people, 
having  lived  in  Northern  Europe  at  least  two  thou- 
sand years.  They  are  the  same  people  that  Taci- 
tus and  Ptolemy  knew  under  the  name  of  Fenni  and 
Phinni,  living  near  their  present  abode. 

The  Esthonians  are  a  branch  of  the  Baltic  Finns 
and  occupy  the  country  bordering  the  southern  shore 
of  the  Gulf  of  Finland.  They  number  about  500,000 
and  inhabit  a  country  about  7818  square  miles  in 
area.  Their  country  is  low^  and  swampy,  but  they 
are  famous  as  agriculturists  and  breeders  of  cattle. 

The  Suomi  or  Finns  of  Finland  are  divided  into 


*Mongol,  or  Mogrul,  is  supposed  to  be  derived  from  "mong."  meaning- 
brave.  Mongolia  is  a  vast  region  north  of  China  proper  and  south  of  Siberia. 
The  term  is  applied  to  the  yellow  peoples  of  Asia. 


86 


IMMIGRANT  RACES 


several  small  sections  according  to  their  dialect,  and 
number  about  2,000,000  souls. 

The  Finns  of  the  Baltic  Sea  have  been  in  contact 
with  the  Teutons  and  Slavs  for  centuries  and  are 
considerably  mixed,  so  that  the  pure  Mongolian  type 
is  not  found.  And  yet  the  straight  hair,  the  yellow 
complexion,  short  nose,  wide  mouth,  broad  cheek 
bones  and  narrow  slanting  eyes  of  the  Mongolian 
type  are  frequently  seen  among  these  Finns.  Among 
the  Esthonians  the  Siberic  (Siberia)  type  is  not  so 
prominent.  Many  of  them  have  light  hair  and  eyes, 
and  other  characteristics  which  resemble  the  Teuton. 
They,  as  well  as  the  Finns  further  north,  have  in 
their  veins  a  large  infusion  of  Aryan  blood. 

Language 

The  Finns  of  Finland  and  the  Esthonians  can 
understand  each  other.  The  epic  poem  of  the  race 
is  the  Kalevala,  which  some  believe  antedates  the 
Christian  faith  of  the  Finns.  The  alphabet  used  is 
the  Roman.  Some  works  are  printed  in  German 
characters.  The  language  is  rich  in  proverbs, 
legends  and  tales.  The  Bible  was  translated  into 
the  Finnish  language  in  1642.  During  the  last  two 
centuries,  the  literary  activity  of  many  Finns  has 
been  great  and  books  in  every  line  of  research  are 
issued  in  that  tongue. 

Government 

The  Finns  and  Esthonians  have  no  self-government 
- — they  form  a  part  of  the  Russian  Empire.  The 


FINNIC  GROUP 


87 


government  of  Finland  is  vested  in  a  Governor- 
General  appointed  by  the  Czar.  The  executive 
government  is  in  the  hands  of  a  Senate  over  whom  the 
Governor-General  presides. 

The  Esthonians  are  governed  in  the  same  way. 
The  Czar  of  Russia  carries  the  title  of  Prince  of 
Esthonia.  This  branch  of  the  Finnic  group  was 
under  the  rule  of  the  Danes  and  the  Germans  in  the 
fourteenth  century,  in  the  sixteenth  they  came  under 
the  Swedish  government,  and  in  the  year  1721  the 
countr}^  was  ceded  to  Russia. 

The  history  of  Finland  is  similar.  The  Kingdoms 
of  Denmark,  Sweden  and  Russia  in  succession  held 
sway  over  Finland.  The  brave  people  fought 
against  the  cupidit}'  of  their  neighbors,  but  they  were 
not  able  to  resist  the  arms  of  Peter  the  Great,  who 
incorporated  their  country  as  a  part  of  the  Russian 
Empire.  Revolts  have  occurred  in  both  countries 
against  the  t^^ranny  of  Russia,  but  they  have  been 
sternly  suppressed. 

The  school  system  is  very  effective  and  all  the 
people  are  able  to  read  and  write. 

Religion 

The  Finns  are  Protestants.  The  Lutheran  faith 
is  the  predominating  one.  The  Christian  religion 
is  said  to  have  been  introduced  in  the  twelfth  century. 
Much  of  the  persecution  suffered  by  the  people  is  due 
to  their  adherence  to  their  own  form  of  worship  and 
to  their  loyalty  to  the  Finnish  tongue.  They 
seriously  resent  the  efforts  made  to  Russianize  them. 


88 


IMMIGRANT  RACES 


Immigration 

In  the  year  1900  there  were  64,000  Finns  in  the 
United  States.  In  the  last  ten  years  another 
125,000  have  entered,  so  that  more  than  150,000 
Finns  are  at  present  in  the  country.  They  are 
chiefly  found  in  the  States  of  Wisconsin,  ^licliigan 
and  Ohio,  and  are  engaged  in  mining,  shipping,  ore 
docks,  etc. 

The  Magyars* 

The  Magyars  hve  in  the  Danubian  plain  in  Central 
Europe.  Here  people  of  that  race  have  lived  for 
more  than  a  thousand  years.  The  total  Mag-var 
population  is  about  8,000,000,  but  Hungary,  which 
they  rule,  has  a  population  of  more  than  double  that 
number.  Their  country  consists  of  one  vast  plain 
traversed  by  the  Danube  and  its  tributaiy,  the 
Theiss.  Tlie  people  are  given  to  agriculture  and 
the  soil  for  the  most  part  is  fertile.  The  develop- 
ment of  Hungary  in  the  last  generation  has  been 
such  that  it  is  spoken  of  as  the  "European  Japan." 

The.  different  races  of  Hungary  number  more  than 
a  dozen,  and  the  problem  of  government  is  a  very 
complicated  one.  The  friction  incident  to  governing 
subject  races  precipitates  hatred,  conflict  and  blood- 
shed ;  hence  the  lot  of  the  Magyar  ruling  class  is  not 
one  of  ease.    Besides  this  tlie  house  of  Hapsburg 

*"The  racial  origin  of  the  Magyars  is  an  unsolved  problem  ....  The 
best  opinion  appears  to  regard  them  as  a  mixed  nationality  compounded 
partly  of  some  race  akin  to  the  Turks  and  partly  of  an  Ugrian  tribe  possibly 
akin  to  the  Finns.  The  Turkish  tribe  appears  to  have  conquered  the  Ugrian, 
and— as  is  frequent  with  conquering  races— to  have  adopted  much  of  the 
language  and  customs  of  the  conquered.  This  explanation  disposes  of  some 
difficulties,  particularly  the  undoubted  fact  that  Magyars  were  described 
by  the  Greeks  as  Turks  till  late  in  the  middle  ages." — Page  xxi.,  Hungary 
in  the  Eighteenth  Century. 


FINNIC  GROUP 


89 


and  the  Sultan  held  the  Magyar  in  subjection  for 
centuries,  and  it  is  surprising  that  the  race  has  been 
able  to  hold  its  own  for  more  than  a  thousand  years 
and  in  the  twentieth  century  manifest  greater  vigor 
and  progress  than  any  other  nation  of  Eastern 
Europe. 

Language 

The  language  of  the  Magyars  is  of  the  Einnic 
group.  A  division  of  this  people  is  also  found  in 
the  eastern  portion  of  Trans3dvania,  known  as  the 
Szeklers,  who  differ  very  slightly  from  their  brethren 
in  Hungary.  The  Magyar  language  is  used  in  the 
Hungarian  Parliament ;  it  is  also  the  official  lan- 
guage of  the  country.  One  of  the  chief  causes  of 
friction  between  the  Magyars  and  the  peoples  over 
whom  they  rule  is  the  effort  made  to  Magy arize  all 
subjects  by  insisting  that  the  Magyar  language  be 
used  in  public  schools  to  the  exclusion  of  every  other 
tongue.  The  ruling  class  also  insists  that  all  courts 
be  conducted  and  all  documents  be  written  in  the 
Magyar  tongue.  The  effort  to  carry  out  this  policy 
has  estranged  the  Slav  peoples  and  made  the  Hun- 
garian Parliament  the  arena  of  acrimonious  conflict. 
The  Magyars  generally  use  the  Roman  alphabet. 

Government 

Hungary  and  Austria  form  the  dual  monarcliy 
of  Austro-Hungary.  This  compact  was  formed  in 
1867,  after  the  defeat  of  Austria  by  Prussia.  By 
the  agreement  the  Emperor  of  Austria  became  the 
King  of  Hungary.      Foreign  affairs,  finance,  the 


90 


IMMIGRANT  RACES 


tariff  and  the  army  and  navy,  are  managed  by  a 
joint  Senate.  Each  nation  has  its  Parhament,  min- 
istry and  administration,  governing  national  affairs 
and  regulating  questions  pertaining  to  local  govern- 
ment. Education  is  compulsory  for  children  between 
six  and  twelve  years  of  age. 

The  Mag\'ars  settled  in  the  plain  of  the  Danube 
some  time  in  the  ninth  century.  They  managed 
their  own  affairs  until  the  sixteenth  century,  when 
they  were  defeated  b}^  the  Turks.  During  the 
Reformation  they  stood  for  religious  freedom  against 
the  intolerance  of  the  House  of  Hapsburg.  During 
the  seventeenth  century  they  were  in  constant  war 
with  the  Austrians,  but  when  Maria  Theresa  ascended 
the  throne  and  appealed  to  them  for  help,  none  in 
her  Empire  supported  her  more  chivalrously  than  the 
Magyars.  Her  son  was  not  as  tactful  and  with  the 
rejuvenation  of  the  Magyar  national  consciousness 
in  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  centur^^,  they  tried 
to  throw  off  the  Austrian  yoke.  When  Austria  was 
prostrated  by  the  arms  of  Prussia,  she  knew  that  her 
very  existence  depended  upon  the  friendship  and  help 
of  Hungary.  It  was  thus  that  the  dual  monarchy 
was  formed,  for  each  nation  was  conscious  that  alone 
it  could  not  long  exist  as  an  independent  State  while 
strong  nations  around  it  were  ever  alert  to  seize 
the  slightest  pretext  to  extend  their  boundary  lines. 

Religiox 

The  population  is  about  equally  divided  between 
Roman  Catholics  and  Protestants.  Besides  this 
there  are  about  3,000,000  adherents  of  the  Greek 


FINNIC  GROUP 


91 


Church.  Among  the  Protestants  the  Calvinists  are 
the  strongest,  numbering  more  than  2,600,000 ;  the 
Lutherans  have  a  following  of  about  1,500,000;  while 
the  United  Greek  and  Armenian  Church  has  more 
than  2,000,000  adherents.  There  are  about  a  million 
Jews,  and  the  Unitarians  number  more  than  70,000. 
The  antagonism  due  to  difference  in  faith  is  less  pro- 
nounced than  that  due  to  racial  pride  and  prejudice. 

Immigration 

The  Mag3'ars  are  among  the  more  recent  immi- 
grants into  the  United  States.  In  1900,  the  total 
number  was  less  than  75,000.  In  the  last  decade 
more  than  300,000  have  entered.  There  are  possibly 
350,000  in  the  country. 

They  are  intelligent,  capable  and  ambitious. 
They  are  found  in  the  steel  and  iron  industries,  in 
mines,  etc.,  and  more  and  more  each  year  they  enter 
the  trades.  The  racial  antagonism  engendered  in 
the  old  world  often  manifests  itself  in  America  and 
accounts  for  many  of  the  quarrels  between  Magyar 
and  Slav. 

Bibliography 

Hungary  of  To-day — Percy  Aid  en.  (1909-) 

Hungarv  and  the  Hungarians — JV.  B.  F.  Bovill. 
(1908.)  ^ 

Austria-Hungary — G.  Drage.  (1909-) 

Storv  of  Hungarv — Vamhery,  Arnim  and  Heilprin. 
(1887.) 

The  Future  of  the  Hungarian  Nation — Scotus  Viator. 
(1908.) 


92 


IMMIGRANT  RACES 


Hungary  in  the  Eighteenth  Century — Marczali. 
The  Strange  Story  of  Rab  Reby — Maurus  Jokai. 
Through  Finland  on  Carts — Tweedic.  (1897.) 
Finland  and  the  Finns — Fisher.  (1890.) 
Finland  As  It  Is— DeWindt.  (1910.) 


XI.    THE  CHINESE  GROUP 


The  Chinese  are  in  the  habit  of  contemptuous!}^ 
asking  Europeans,  "Have  you  got  family  names 
too?"  The  oldest  families  in  America  trace  their 
ancestry  back  a  few  hundred  years ;  royal  dynasties 
of  Europe  can  hardly  trace  the  founder  of  the  house 
at  a  distance  of  a  thousand  years,  but  some  Chinese 
can  boast  of  an  ancestry  that  goes  back  to  1121  B.  C. 
When  Europe  was  inhabited  by  barbarians  the  Chi- 
nese had  a  civilization  that  was  the  admiration  of 
the  nations  of  the  Euphrates  valley.  The  prophet 
Ezekiel  mentions  silken  materials  which  brought  fame 
to  this  people.  When  Marco  Polo,  at  the  beginning 
of  the  fourteenth  century  described  the  wonderful 
civilization  in  Eastern  Asia,  Europe  could  learn  much 
as  regards  social  order  and  industrial  accomplish- 
ments from  the  Chinese.  Rome  could  boast  of  a 
thousand  years  of  life;  Austria,  the  oldest  dynasty 
of  Europe,  can  hardly  go  back  that  far;  but  China 
boasts  of  four  thousand  years  of  history. 

The  Chinese  have  something  more  than  the  pigtail 
to  boast  of.  Before  the  Christian  era  they  had 
earthern  vessels  and  porcelain,  they  cultivated  the 
vine  and  drank  tea.  Soon  after  the  Christian  era 
they  made  paper  and  invented  and  made  India  ink. 
Before  the  sixth  century  they  had  carved  wooden 
tablets  and  when  William  the  Conqueror  was  a  child 
they  printed  with  movable  types.  They  used  the 
magnetic  needle,  spectacles,  money — both  metallic 
and  paper — used  weights  and  measures,  invented  gun 
powder  and  the  abacus  and  were  skilful  in  the  use 


94 


IMMIGRANT  RACES 


of  numbers.  When  the  Europeans  ate  with  their 
fingers  the  Chinese  used  chopsticks.  We  began  to 
macadamize  our  streets  in  1820  and  thus  copied  an 
ancient  invention  of  the  Chinese. 

Language 

The  Chinese  have  no  alphabetical  characters ;  and 
they  of  all  the  peoples  in  the  world  read,  write  and 
print  without  having  invented  orthography.  The 
language  is  monosyllabic.  They  invented  a  hiero- 
glyphic for  each  root,  but  never  divided  the  roots 
into  their  separate  sounds  and  then  symbolized  them. 
Thus  the  scheme  of  expressing  ideas  in  Chinese  writ- 
ing is  wholly  different  from  that  of  the  Aryan  lan- 
guages. They  use  words  and  sounds  but  the  way 
they  put  them  together  gives  the  language  its  pecu- 
liarity. It  is  destitute  of  phonetic  or  syllabic  suf- 
fixes which  distinguish  nouns,  verbs  or  adjectives;  it 
dispenses  with  all  grammatical  distinction  of  mean- 
ing ;  it  has  no  inflections  or  verbal  structure  of  any 
description.  It  is  wholly  made  up  of  roots,  which 
are  put  together  in  a  set  way,  sanctioned  by  custom, 
and  the  meaning  of  the  root  depends  upon  this 
arrangement.  A  writer  defines  his  idea  by  the  con- 
tact of  root  with  root.  There  are  no  words  in  the 
strict  sense  of  the  term  in  the  Chinese  language. 
Philologists  say  that  a  beginning  of  word  formation 
is  observed,  but  even  then  the  roots  preserve  their 
independence.  Hence  the  language  is  said  to  be, 
of  all  languages  of  the  world,  in  the  lowest  stage  of 
development.  And  it  is  this  peculiarity  that  makes 
it  so  difficult  to  acquire.    The  monosyllabic  roots, 


CHINESE  GROUP 


95 


connected  according  to  custom,  supply  every  requisite 
for  the  exchange  of  thought,  but  the  task  of  recol- 
lecting the  immense  number  of  combinations  burdens 
the  memory  and  is  a  serious  obstacle  to  the  student. 

The  literature  of  China  is  said  to  go  back  2000 
years  B.  C.  The  earliest  production,  which  is  the 
basis  of  all  Chinese  literature,  is  the  "Ching,"  which 
was  edited  by  Confucius  in  the  sixth  century  before 
Christ.  It  comprises  "Five  Classics,"  and  has  been 
the  model  of  literary  form  for  three  thousand  years. 
It  accounts  for  the  stability  given  Chinese  thought 
and  institutions,  the  undeveloped  nature  of  the  lan- 
guage and  the  philosophical  wisdom  common  among 
the  people.  To  these  are  added  "Four  Books,"  which 
are  also  ascribed  to  Confucius  or  his  descendants  of 
the  first  generation.  These  documents  are  as  valu- 
able and  interesting  as  any  found  in  the  civilization 
of  any  people,  and  have  molded  and  shaped  the  life 
of  this  remarkable  race. 

The  Confucian  writings  may  be  considered  the  sum 
and  substance  of  Chinese  literature,  for  other  works 
are  commentaries  on,  or  elucidations  of,  the  original 
texts.  In  the  third  century  B.  C.  an  attempt  was 
made  by  royal  decree  to  destroy  the  teachings  of 
Confucius,  but  notwithstanding  the  burning  of  thou- 
sands of  volumes  and  the  martyrdom  of  hundreds  of 
teachers,  that  faith  was  completely  restored  within 
a  generation  of  the  tyrant's  death.  China  has  had 
its  poets,  novelists  and  historians.  The  century 
immediately  preceding  the  modern  awakening,  was 
given  to  the  compilation  of  encyclopedias,  and  no 
nation  is  so  rich  in  this  respect  as  the  Chinese. 


96 


IMMIGRANT  RACES 


Under  the  influence  of  Western  standards,  Chinese 
newspapers,  pubhshed  in  the  large  cities,  promulgate 
social,  industrial  and  moral  ideas  of  Western  civiliza- 
tion. Books  on  science,  philosophy,  poetry,  history, 
theology,  etc.,  are  also  translated  and  many  of  the 
sons  of  the  Orient  are  students  in  the  colleges  of 
Europe  and  America. 

GOVERXMEXT 

The  Chinese  government  is  based  on  the  famil}^ 
bond  which  is  the  first  step  in  the  organization  of 
human  society.  The  absolute  power  of  the  monarch 
is  based  on  the  legal  maxim  that  he  is  the  father  of 
his  people.  Every  command  comes  from  the  paternal 
lips.  The  power  of  the  Emperor  is  hedged  round  by 
safeguards  in  the  form  of  advisory  bodies,  known  as 
the  three  Councils,  composed  of  the  heads  of  depart- 
ments, so  that  the  members  are  in  touch  with  every 
branch  of  the  administration.  There  are  eighteen 
boards  concerned  in  the  administration  of  the  gov- 
ernment, and  independent  of  it  is  a  board  of  public 
censors,  made  up  of  from  fort\^  to  fift}"  members,  any 
one  of  whom  can  present  an}^  remonstrance  to  the 
sovereign.  In  1906,  the  Emperor  issued  an  edict 
promising  constitutional  government  to  the  country 
as  soon  as  the  people  are  ripe  for  it.  In  1908,  a 
decree  was  sent  forth  promising  to  convoke  a  Parlia- 
ment in  the  ninth  3'ear  from  the  date  of  the  decree. 

The  country  is  divided  into  twenty-two  provinces 
for  local  government :  each  is  ruled  over  by  a  viceroy. 
Each  province  is  subdivided  into  prefectures  ruled  by 
prefects :  each  prefecture  is  di^dded  into  districts, 


CHINESE  GROUP 


97 


over  which  a  magistrate  presides.  Each  town  and 
village  has  its  unofficial  governing  body  of  gentry. 
In  1905,  the  historic  system  of  education  that  had 
obtained  for  many  centuries  was  swept  away  by 
Imperial  Decree,  and  schools  for  the  teaching  of 
subjects  after  the  method  of  Western  nations  have 
sprung  up  in  every  large  town  in  large  portions  of 
the  Empire.  Obedience  is  the  first  duty  of  the  child 
and  disobedience  to  parents  renders  one  liable  to 
capital  punishment.  The  people  obey  the  laws 
because  of  moral  respect,  for  the  military  power  of 
the  Empire  is  very  small. 

The  Chinese  Empire  has  lasted  four  thousand 
years.  Two  thousand  years  before  Christ  a  high 
stage  of  civilization  was  developed  in  the  fertile 
valley  of  the  Houng-ho.  The  inhabitants  of  this 
section  slowly  spread  and  conquered  the  aboriginal 
tribes.  While  one  branch  of  the  race  conquered  in 
the  south,  the  Mongols  and  the  Manchus  did  the  same 
in  the  north.  At  this  early  date  they  had  a  system 
of  canals,  an  active  police,  a  passport  system,  game 
laws,  and  laws  against  furious  riding  in  the  streets 
of  towns.  In  the  third  century  before  Christ,  the 
population  numbered  about  14,000,000.  The 
Empire  continued  to  extend  till  the  thirteenth  century 
of  our  era;  indeed  Formosa  was  not  added  till  the 
seventeenth  century.  This  island  was  ceded  to  Japan 
in  1895. 

Within  recent  years  the  Empire  has  lost  some 
territory,  but,  notwithstanding  the  greed  of  Euro- 
pean nations,  this  great  realm  with  its  nearly  375,- 
000,000  inhabitants  still  remains  virtually  intact. 


98 


IMMIGRANT  RACES 


Japan  humiliated  China  in  1894,  and  the  Boxer  re- 
belhon  to  drive  out  the  "foreigners"  arrested  the 
attention  of  the  civiHzed  world.  China  is  slowly 
putting  on  the  garment  of  Western  Europe,  and  the 
last  is  not  yet  heard  of  this  marvelous  people  that 
is  equally  at  home  on  the  boundaries  of  Siberia  where 
the  quicksilver  freezes  in  the  thermometer  and  in  the 
hothouse  warmth  of  Singapore. 

Religion 

There  are  five  forms  of  religion  in  China:  that  of 
Confucius,  Laotse,  Buddha,  Mohammed  and  Christ. 
Confucius  flourished  five  hundred  years  before  Christ. 
He  did  not  found  a  religion,  but  expounded  and 
elaborated  the  worship  of  Heaven  and  Earth  as  he 
found  it  in  his  day.  He  was  an  agnostic,  and  taught 
that  the  practical  interests  of  this  life,  its  duties  in 
the  spheres  of  the  family  and  the  state,  were  impor- 
tant enough  to  occupy  the  whole  time  of  man.  Some 
of  his  maxims  were:  "Thou  shalt  not  do  unto  others 
that  which  thou  wilt  not  that  they  should  do  unto 
thee."  "Requite  injury  with  justice,  and  benevolence 
with  benevolence." 

Laotse  was  a  contemporary  of  Confucius.  He 
taught  the  existence  of  a  Being,  somewhat  like  the 
Logos,  who  was  the  creator  of  the  material  universe. 
He  did  not  found  a  religion  but  speculated  as  to  the 
mystery  of  creation.  His  writings  are  obscure,  but 
their  moral  teachings  are  pure  and  their  essence  con- 
tained in  gentleness  and  toleration.  His  system  was 
soon  brought  into  contempt  because  of  the  frauds 
practiced  by  some  of  his  disciples. 


CHIXESE  GROUP 


99 


The  Buddhist  faith  was  introduced  into  China 
about  two  centuries  before  Christ.  It  was  recognized 
as  the  state  cult  A.  D.  65.  It  soon  degenerated, 
however,  into  a  system  of  polytheism  and  the  worship 
of  the  saints. 

Mohammedanism  was  introduced  in  the  seventh 
century  of  the  Christian  era.  The  Chinese  converts 
rehearse  the  Koran  in  Arabic  and  understand  very 
little  of  what  they  say.  Their  religious  teachers 
inculcate  alien  rites  and  doctrines  and  train  them  in 
loyalty  to  the  Sultan  rather  than  the  Emperor  in 
Pekin.  This  accounts  for  the  man}'  bloody  revolts 
which  break  out  among  them. 

The  Christian  faith  was  introduced  in  the  eighth 
century  by  the  Nestorians.  The  Roman  Catholics 
established  missions  in  the  country  early  in  the  four- 
teenth centur}' ;  the  Protestants  entered  the  field  in  the 
last  century.  The  number  of  Christians  of  all  faiths 
is  about  1,150,000,  of  whom  150,000  belong  to  the 
Protestant  creeds.  All  religions  are  tolerated  and 
the  Chinese  are  exceptionally  free  from  religious 
bigotry.  The  persecution  of  Christians  is  not  so 
much  on  account  of  their  faith  as  because  of  the 
people's  dislike  of  foreigners  and  suspicion  as  to 
their  intentions  upon  China. 

I:mmigratiox 

The  United  States  excludes  all  Chinese  laborers  as 
immigrants.  The  first  law  upon  this  question  passed 
Congress  in  1882,  and  was  intended  to  last  ten 
years ;  in  1892  it  was  extended  for  another  decade, 


100 


IMMIGRANT  RACES 


and  in  1902  the  previous  acts  were  reenacted,  ex- 
tended and  continued  in  force  indefinitely,  "prohibit- 
ing and  regulating  the  coming  of  Chinese  persons 
and  persons  of  Chinese  descent  into  the  United  States 
and  the  residence  of  such  persons  therein."  The 
class  exempted  from  the  provisions  of  this  law  are: 
"officials,  teachers,  students,  merchants  or  travelers 
for  pleasure  or  curiosity."  In  1908,  those  in  the 
country,  as  well  as  those  in  the  Pacific  dependencies 
by  right  of  law,  were  given  certificates  of  identifica- 
tion, in  order  to  check  the  surreptitious  incoming  of 
Chinese  laborers.  Every  Chinaman  now  admitted 
receives  one  of  these  certificates.  The  total  number 
in  the  United  States  at  present  is  estimated  at  110,- 
000.  The  Chinese  immigrants  entering  the  country 
during  the  last  seventy-five  years  number  nearly 
300,000.  The  largest  number  in  any  one  year  came 
in  1882  when  nearly  40,000  landed.  At  present  from 
3000  to  4000  come  in  annually.  The  Chinese  as  well 
as  the  Japanese  and  Koreans  are  excluded  from 
naturalization,  on  the  ground  that  "The  general 
policy  of  our  government  in  regard  to  the  naturali- 
zation of  aliens  has  been  to  limit  the  privilege  of 
naturalization  to  white  people." 

Bebliography 

The  Awakening  of  China— ^.  A.  P.  Martin.  (1907.) 
The  Lore  of  Cathay—^.  A.  P.  Martin.  (1907.) 
Chinese  Life  in  Town  and  Country — E.  Bard. 
Story  of  China— J?.  K.  Douglas.  (1901.) 
Chinese  Immigration — M.  R.  Coolidge.  (1910.) 
Chinese  and  Japanese  Immigration — American  Acad- 
emy of  Social  and  Political  Science.  (September,  1909-) 


XII.    THE  JAPANESE  GROUP 


This  group  contains  two  peoples,  the  Japanese 
and  the  Koreans.  Both  are  mixed  peoples  and  have 
copied  much  from  China.  Korea  has  been  called 
the  Hermit  Kingdom  for  the  reason  that  it  absolutely 
closed  its  doors  against  all  nations — against  China 
and  Japan  as  well  as  England  and  America. 

The  Japanese 

The  Japanese  first  came  to  the  Archipelago  on 
the  east  of  the  Chinese  mainland  about  a  thousand 
years  before  the  Christian  era.  The  islands  were 
then  inhabited  by  the  Ainos,  remarkable  for  their 
heavy  beards  and  hairy  persons.  These  the  Japanese 
conquered  and  drove  to  the  north,  where  a  few  still 
live.  Ethnologists  believe  that  the  Japanese  are  a 
production  of  the  intermingling  of  the  Mongols,  Poly- 
nesian, and  Indonesian  peoples.  The  influence  of 
the  Ainos  is  most  perceptible  in  the  north.  The 
group  of  islands  over  which  the  Mikado  rules  com- 
prises about  150,000  square  miles.  The  central  and 
most  important  is  Nippon,  by  which  name  the 
Japanese  call  themselves.  The  population  numbers 
more  than  45,000,000  which  gives  a  density  of  more 
than  300  to  the  square  mile. 

There  is  considerable  diversitj^  in  the  physical  type 
of  Japanese,  but  two  of  these  types  stand  widely 
apart :  the  fine  type,  which  may  be  observed  in  the 
upper  classes  of  society,  their  figures  tall  and  slim, 


102 


IMMIGRANT  RACES 


their  faces  elongated  and  their  eyes  straight ;  the 
coarse  type,  seen  in  the  mass  of  the  people,  with  thick- 
set body,  broad  face  and  high  cheek  bones,  oblique 
eyes,  and  broad  mouth.  The  other  varieties  come  in 
between  these  two  extremes. 

The  Japanese  have  copied  with  profit  from  nations 
more  advanced  and  invariably  have  improved  upon 
what  they  assimilated.  They  did  this  with  the  civili- 
zation of  China  and  they  are  doing  it  today  with 
Western  civilization.  They  are  a  gifted  people.  As 
early  as  1860,  a  steamboat  manned  and  commanded 
by  Japanese  made  its  way  across  the  Pacific  to  San 
Francisco  and  back.  They  are  artistic  and  their 
art,  which  is  wonderful  in  its  technical  finish,  has 
many  admirers  among  Western  nations.  They  are 
industrious  and  their  fields  yield  an  abundant  harvest ; 
they  are  also  brave,  as  the  recent  wars  with  China  and 
Russia  have  shown. 

Language 

One  of  the  chief  reasons  for  classifying  Japanese 
and  Koreans  in  a  group  by  themselves  is  the  poly- 
syllabic character  of  their  language.  This  is  espe- 
cially true  of  the  Japanese,  while  the  Korean  stands 
midway  between  the  Japanese  and  the  Chinese. 

They  use  two  methods  of  writing — Chinese  hiero- 
glyphics and  along  with  this  another  method  which  is 
syllabic. 

Japanese  literature  is  generally  divided  into  three 
periods.  The  ancient,  in  which  the  Ko-ji-ki,  called 
the  Bible  of  Japan,  is  the  chief  production.  The 


JAPANESE  GROUP 


103 


work  is  of  great  value  as  reflecting  the  hymns  and 
prayers  of  Shinto,  and  as  a  source  book  from  which 
ancient  Japan  may  be  reconstructed.  The  work  is 
variously  dated  by  the  admirers  of  Japan,  but  the 
most  trustworthy  date  is  the  fifth  century  of  the 
Christian  era.  In  the  eighth  century,  Chinese  litera- 
ture made  its  way  into  the  country  and  greatly  influ- 
enced Japan.  The  Chinese  classics  became  the  order 
of  the  day  and  exerted  great  influence  upon  the  liter- 
ary style  of  Japanese  writers.  This  copying  of 
China  continued  for  centuries  and  in  the  seventeenth 
resulted  in  a  great  revival  of  learning,  which  derived 
its  chief  stimulus  from  China.  The  leaders  were 
avowed  followers  of  Confucius,  whose  system  of  teach- 
ing they  developed  into  a  philosophy  and  cosmogony. 
It  became  the  faith  of  the  literati,  while  Buddhism 
was  left  to  the  priests,  the  v/omen  and  the  ignorant. 
This  may  be  called  the  middle  period  in  Japanese 
literature. 

The  modern  era  has  arrived  in  Japan.  The  nation 
is  copying  the  works  of  Western  civilization  and  with 
a  marvelous  genius  for  assimilation  they  are  rapidly 
mastering  its  science  and  philosophy,  and  successfully 
applying  its  intricate  methods  of  control  over  the 
forces  of  nature.  They  improved  and  stamped  with 
their  own  character  many  branches  of  industry  which 
they  copied  from  China ;  it  remains  to  be  seen  whether 
they  will  do  this  with  what  they  take  from  Europe  and 
America.  Newspapers  and  periodicals,  pamphlets 
and  books  of  science,  philosoph}^,  history,  etc.,  are 
published  in  large  numbers  in  Japanese. 


104 


IMMIGRANT  RACES 


Government 

Up  to  the  year  1889,  the  government  was  an  abso- 
lute monarchy,  under  an  Emperor  known  among 
Western  nations  as  the  Mikado.  In  that  year  a 
constitution  was  promulgated,  vesting  the  supreme 
executive  power  in  the  Emperor,  creating  an  advisory 
cabinet  appointed  by  the  Crown,  and  a  privy  council 
which  was  virtually  a  court  of  appeal.  An  Imperial 
Diet  was  also  established,  consisting  of  two  houses, 
one  of  the  peers  and  the  other  of  representatives. 
Each  member  receives  a  salary.  The  Japanese  aris- 
tocracy hold  trade  in  contempt,  but  since  the  consti- 
tution guaranteed  a  Parliament  they  have  thrown 
themselves  into  politics  with  great  ardor. 

For  purposes  of  local  government  the  country  is 
divided  into  prefectures ;  these  again  are  subdivided 
into  municipalities,  counties,  towns  and  villages.  In 
each  of  these  political  divisions  there  is  an  assembly 
presided  over  by  an  officer — a  governor,  sheriff, 
mayor  or  magistrate.  The  assemblies  give  decision 
chiefly  upon  financial  matters.  The  governors  and 
sheriffs  are  appointed  by  the  government.  Some  of 
the  islands  have  a  special  organization  for  adminis- 
tration.   Elementary  education  is  compulsory. 

Japan,  by  force  of  arms,  has  conquered  the  two 
strong  powers  that  are  nearest  her — China  and 
Russia.  This  has  given  her  practical  control  of 
Korea  and  her  influence  in  Manchuria  is  predominant. 
If  the  European  powers  had  not  combined  to  deprive 
Japan  of  the  territory  conquered  by  her  in  recent 
wars,  the  dominion  of  the  Mikado  would,  today,  be 
much  larger  than  it  is. 


JAPANESE  GROUP 


105 


Religion 

The  prevailing  religion  of  Japan  is  Shintoism  or 
the  worship  of  the  powers  of  nature.  The  Buddhist 
faith  is  also  found  among  the  people.  The  literati 
find  refuge  in  the  teachings  of  Confucius,  which  are 
largely  agnostic  and  which  have  been  developed  by 
Japanese  writers  into  a  system  of  philosophy  suitable 
to  the  mental  temperament  of  this  gifted  race.  The 
sacred  writings  of  the  nation  are  chiefly  precepts 
concerning  earthly  relations,  and  the  Japanese  as  a 
whole  are  said  to  be  an  irreligious  people,  caring 
more  about  the  aff'airs  of  the  home  and  the  State 
than  for  the  ideal  and  the  mystical.  The  Christian 
faith  is  making  a  deep  impress  upon  the  people  and 
the  Empire. 

Immigration 

The  total  number  of  Japanese  who  have  entered 
the  United  States  in  seventeen  years  is  more  than 
157,000,  and  of  these  more  than  132,000  have  come 
during  the  last  decade.  In  1907,  an  act  was  passed 
conferring  upon  the  President  of  the  United  States 
the  power  to  prohibit  entrance  into  the  continental 
territory  of  the  United  States,  to  all  who  held  pass- 
ports to  any  insular  possession  of  the  United  States 
or  to  the  Canal  Zone.  In  virtue  of  this  power,  the 
President  on  March  14,  1907,  issued  a  proclamation 
excluding  from  continental  United  States,  "Japanese 
or  Korean  laborers,  skilled  or  unskilled,  who  have 
received  passports  to  go  to  Mexico,  Canada,  or 


106 


IMMIGRANT  RACES 


Hawaii,  and  come  therefrom."  The  Japanese 
government  on  its  part  agreed  to  refuse  passports  to 
laborers  unless  it  was  such  as  wished  to  resume  a 
formerly  acquired  domicile,  to  join  a  parent,  wife  or 
children  residing  there  or  to  assume  active  control 
of  an  already  possessed  interest  in  a  farming  enter- 
prise in  this  country.  By  this  mutual  understanding 
the  number  of  Japanese  entering  the  country  in  1910 
was  less  than  4000  while  three  years  previous  nearly 
eight  times  that  number  entered. 

The  Koreans 

The  Koreans  inhabit  the  Korean  peninsula,  whose 
area  is  about  100,000  square  miles  and  the  population 
more  than  10,000,000.  Thus  it  is  only  one  third 
as  thickly  populated  as  Japan.  The  people  are  said 
to  have  come  from  the  same  stock  as  the  Japanese, 
which,  as  above  stated,  was  a  mixed  product  of 
Malays,  Indonesians,  etc.  They  are,  however,  more 
positive  Asiatics  than  the  people  of  the  Japanese 
archipelago.  The  men  are  tall  and  strong,  but  the 
women  are  puny  and  homely — yellow  complexion, 
small  eyes,  prominent  brow  and  small  feet.  But  the 
Korean  characteristic  feature  of  female  beauty  is  an 
abundant  head  of  hair  and  thick  eyebrows. 

The  Koreans  settled  in  the  peninsula  in  the  second 
century  of  the  Christian  era,  and,  like  the  Japanese, 
copied  the  civilization  of  the  Chinese.  They  are  not 
so  gifted  as  the  Chinese  or  Japanese,  and  they  have 
been  for  centuries  a  shuttlecock  between  these  two 
rival  Empires. 


JAPANESE  GROUP 


107 


Language 

The  Korean  language  is  agglutinative  but  not  to 
the  extent  the  Japanese  is.  The  root  always  remains 
invariable  but  syllables  are  added  to  express  the  rela- 
tion of  the  word  to  other  ideas.  It  has  no  plural 
form  and  the  pronouns  are  nearly  unknown ;  the  verb, 
however,  has  great  expressive  power,  and  has  three 
forms  according  as  one  addresses  an  inferior,  an 
equal,  or  a  superior.  The  alphabet  used  is  believed 
by  some  to  have  been  borrowed  from  the  Sanscrit  by 
Buddhist  monks.  It  is  very  simple  and  made  up  of 
horizontal  and  perpendicular  strokes.  The  official 
language  was  formerly  Chinese,  but  recently  the 
Korean  language  has  been  revived.  Korea  has  taken 
the  literature  of  China,  whose  classics  prevail ;  never- 
theless the  influence  of  Korean  leaders  is  apparent. 
Through  the  recent  revival  of  the  Korean  language, 
works  are  now  issued  in  that  tongue. 

Government 

The  form  of  government  is  monarchical,  but  the 
Crown  for  centuries  has  acknowledged  the  suzerainty 
of  the  Chinese  government.  The  kingdom  was 
founded  in  the  second  century  before  the  Christian 
era.  In  the  next  century  it  was  annexed  to  China. 
A  thousand  years  later  it  became  independent,  but 
in  1627  was  again  conquered  by  the  Manchus.  It 
remained  in  their  power  until  1894,  when  Japan  con- 
quered China  and  the  suzerainty  was  transferred 
from  Pekin  to  Tokio.  Japan  is  now  in  practical  con- 
trol of  the  affairs  of  the  Hermit  Kingdom.    A  repre- 


108 


IMMIGRANT  RACES 


sentative  of  the  Mikado  manages  its  foreign  affairs 
and  the  finances  of  the  kingdom  are  also  in  the  hands 
of  his  appointees. 

Korea  was  long  closed  to  the  nations  of  the  world. 
China  and  Japan  succeeded  first  in  opening  its  doors 
and  later  concessions  were  made  to  England,  Ger- 
many and  America. 

Religion 

Korea  has  no  state  religion.  Buddhism,  Confu- 
cianism, Shamanism  and  Christianity  are  found  in 
the  kingdom.  The  higher  classes  profess  the  faith 
of  Confucius ;  the  lower  classes  practice  Shamanistic 
rites ;  some  others  are  Buddhists ;  while  the  Christian 
faith  was  introduced  in  the  year  1775  by  the  Jesuits. 
The  Protestants  began  work  in  the  peninsula  in  1884. 
The  present  number  of  Christians  of  every  faith  is 
large.  The  people  are  said  to  be  of  an  irreligious 
temper,  like  the  Chinese  and  the  J apanese ;  but  their 
ignorance  leads  them  to  gross  forms  of  worship  in 
which  they  sacrifice  to  the  spirits  of  the  forests  and 
mountains,  etc. 

Immigration 

The  total  number  of  Koreans  who  have  entered  the 
country  is  7781.  The  largest  number  came  in  1905 
when  about  5000  entered.  Since  then  the  number 
has  almost  reached  the  zero  point — only  eleven 
entering  in  the  year  1910. 


JAPANESE  GROUP 


109 


Bibliography 

The  Awakening  of  Japan — Ohahura-Kahuzo. 

Story  of  Japan — David  Murray.  (1884<.) 

The  Mikado's  Empire— 7r.  E.  Griffis. 

Japanese  Life  in  Town  and  Country — G.  TV.  Knox. 

Korea^  the  Hermit  Nation — TV.  E.  Griffis. 


/ 


JV6455.R64 

Immigrant  races  in  North  America 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 

1  1012  00025  9061 


